


Fairy Follies: The Journey Begins

by KotOR_Luvr



Category: Tinker Bell (Movies)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Angst, F/M, Romance, Supernatural - Freeform, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:10:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 126,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10084313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KotOR_Luvr/pseuds/KotOR_Luvr
Summary: She was just an average woman; average looks and an average life. Her thoughts weren't so average; her obsession with fairies is what made them not so average. When this average woman has a mishap with Pixie Dust and finds herself in Pixie Hollow, she doesn't know how to react. Join her as her dreams come alive and new ones are formed and as romance blossoms like a rose in spring.





	1. Pixie Dust and a Baby's Laugh

A room, filled with diagrams and drawings. They lined just about everything; the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the desk, even the bed. Some just contained random words and some contained actual paragraphs and phrases. Some contained scribbles, and some contained sketches and drawings. Anything that corresponded with one another were lined together by a piece of string, all varying in colour. On the desk were diagrams that were either in the making or pulled down off the wall or off the floor or off the ceiling.

In the midst of all this organized chaos was a young woman, sitting on a black leather chair. She didn't consider herself as much, just a young woman who lived in London. She wasn't perfectly beautiful like other women; short brown hair and cloudy grey eyes weren't exactly the best combination of colours. Her skin was pale and her dark freckles stood out from said skin. She also didn't have boys crawling around her like most other women did. Other people, primarily her friends and family, considered her as less or abnormal; a girl with nothing more than a crazed obsession with fairies. Of course, although they weren't very supportive of her theories and the like, they always looked out for her and made sure she got out to exercise and to eat. One of her sisters had even signed her up for Karate, once.

Of course, she would go to her classes and go out to run or head to the gym. She didn't want to get fat or die from laziness. To also keep her from 'going insane from silence', she would often listen to music, mainly classical. However, much to her family's annoyance, she would often turn the music all the way up to prevent her from being distracted.

The young woman kicked at the wall and sent herself rolling to the other side, pulling a diagram from the wall and comparing it to another.

**If fairies can create winds and rain and snow, then can they create anomalies such as tornados or earthquakes?**

She kicked again briskly dropped the diagrams off at the desk and she bumped into her bed, quickly snatching a sketch.

**But fairies aren't exactly ones to create destructive things and if they do they'd fix it.**

"Flora?"

She kicked at her bed and dropped off the sketch on her desk and deftly grabbed at her mug, sipping as she rolled over to the other wall. She took another diagram down, twisting her wrist so the string would fall off.

**And if they can't fix it they can at least try to make it better. So if they start a natural disaster then they can try to calm it down.**

"Flora."

**Unless there's something else at work. Well, I suppose it's time to pull out the old Dark Fairy theory.**

She kicked at the wall and stood up from the chair once it reached the desk. She spread her pictures and diagrams out and she placed her mug on a blank spot.

**If Dark Fairies are real, then are they at war with regular fairies? They couldn't be. Fairies are generally peace loving and, to be frank, pacifists.**

" _Flora Irene Harrison_!"

Flora jumped and whipped herself around, hand to her chest. "You needn't shout, I'm right here!"

Casey, her younger sister, rolled her eyes. "You were in la-la land again, I had no choice but to shout."

Flora sighed. Her younger sister was at least interested in what she was doing, but she didn't exactly support her 'obsession'. At least she was quiet about her opinions. "What is it?"

"Dinner is ready."

Flora nodded and her younger sister left, knowing she'd come down at some point. She looked back at her diagrams and stacked them neatly.  **I'll finish this later.**  She promised herself.

She quickly dashed out of her room and down the wooden stairs, hand along the wall and the other one on the railing. Her home was an average home, not one of the fanciest that one could have in London. Two stories tall. Her home was also on the outskirts of London, more out in the country.

Flora quickly placed herself beside her younger sister, also beside her mother. Her family was an average family, however, missing one important member. Flora's father had died due to his failing heart, nearly ten years ago. She was just a young girl when that had happened. It scarred her beyond what anyone could expect, although she didn't dare show it.

"I thought you were gone forever up there." Her mother joked.

"And where could I have gone?"

"Off to Neverland, maybe?" Casey snorted.

Flora shrugged, picking at her fresh greens with her fork. "Maybe. All I'd need is a bit of-"

Her mother smacked her hand. "None of that talk." She pointed a finger at Casey. "And don't encourage her."

Casey raised her hands slightly. "It was a joke."

Flora sighed heavily. Whenever talks of her 'obsession' popped up at the dinner table, her mother was quick to shoot them down. She didn't know if it was because of her father always talking about 'magical creatures' and 'fairies' when she was little or if it was just because her mother didn't appreciate the nonsense. "Pixie Dust..." she muttered, taking a bite of her broccoli.

The rest of dinner was silent, sometimes broken by small talk. Flora was hardly paying any attention, she was too focused on her 'dark fairy' theory.

"I'm going out to run for a bit."

Her mother nearly choked on her tea. "Run? At this hour? It's dark out!"

Flora stood up from the table, wiping her hands on her napkin. "I'll be fine, mother. I won't go far."

Carley snorted. "Probably looking for fairies again."

Flora sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. "So what if I am? No harm in it."

Her mother slapped her napkin down onto the table. "Flora Irene Harrison, when are you going to learn to act less like a child?"

Shocked at her mothers outburst, she didn't exactly know how to respond. "What?"

"Flora, you're a twenty-one year old woman with an education; when are you going to stop wasting time on such pathetic follies?!"

Flora bit back a snarky reply. She took a breath and calmed herself. "Father always believed in them. He told me stories-"

"That's what they were! Just stories! When will you learn that?!"

Casey stood from the table. "I don't like it when you argue. I'm going up to my room."

Her mother called after her, "Then be sure to clean it while you're up there!"

Flora shook her head, frustrated with her mother. "They weren't just stories!" She lifted a pendant up that was tied by a string around her neck; a small glass jar, filled with a golden dust. "This is pixie dust! He showed me once; it works!"

"Flora, just-"

She took a napkin from the table and pulled out the cork. "Look, just let me-"

"Flora,  _enough_!" Her mother shouted.

She flinched as her mother shouted, nearly dropping the jar. She huffed and put the cork back in and set the napkin back down.

Her mother heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Such childish things..." she muttered. "Flora, when will you learn that there are no such thing as fairies?! They are nothing more than mythical creatures!"

"They are  _not_  mythical, mother! Father had said-"

"Enough about what your father said! Your father was just as gullible as you were, nearly crazy!"

Flora's eyes widened and a small gasp slipped past her lips. Never once had her mother spoken so ill of her father.

Her mother realized her mistake and she sighed. "Flora, I didn't mean-"

Flora turned on her heel and grabbed her jacket, not bothering with her shoes. She wouldn't need them where she was going.

/ / /

Down the stone path, around the pond, into the forest. That was her usual running path. She always thought that, if she ran through the forest during the peak of a season, she might spot a fairy. One thing she didn't know was if they left any trail or if you had to just watch for them as they flew by.

She shook her head and growled. She had to get those thoughts out of her head.

Flora stopped to take a break at the mouth of the river. Her usual break area. She always loved to watch the fireflies over the water; it created such a lovely scene. Golden speckles over a dark brook, the moon creating a hint of silver, blending with the ripples and waves. A romantic spot as well, although she had nobody to share it with. The men in London who knew of her thought she was too strange with her fairy obsession. Never once had she found love, and she never expected to find it.

Or for it to find her.

She stared at the fireflies, watching as they blinked and floated over the water, their golden light reflecting off the ripples. One firefly, she noticed, wasn't blinking at all. It wasn't even moving. It was just sitting there.

She shuffled her feet closer to the mouth of the river, staring at that one firefly. It flinched as she moved and she saw several golden particles float as it moved.

Her eyes gleamed at the sight of the 'firefly'. Not taking her eyes off of it, she pulled the glass jar out from under her jacket and pulled off the cork, tossing it away. Flora shook the jar and some of the dust came out, glowing just as the golden particles did.

The 'firefly' suddenly took off, a golden trail behind it. Careful as to not drop the jar, Flora chased after it through the river, not caring if her feet got wet.

The fairy turned and she followed suit, turning into the thicker part of the woods. She turned and turned, desperate to find the fairy again.

She heard a sound, then. Not the twinkling of fairy dust, no, but she heard something more jovial.

A baby's laugh.

 ** _A baby's laugh can birth a new fairy._**  She remembered her father saying.

She shook her head and growled in frustration. "There's no such thing as fairies..." she repeated what her mother had said.

Flora threw the jar of pixie dust at the ground, the glass shattering and the content spilling.

Wind had suddenly picked up and the pixie dust flew everywhere, almost making Flora sneeze. She waved her hand in an attempt to brush the dust away, but without success.

The baby's laugh grew louder in her ears, but the pixie dust was preventing her to see where it was coming from. It was far too thick, surrounding her almost like a cocoon. It glowed brighter and brighter, almost blinding her.

Then it all died out.


	2. Welcome to Pixie Hollow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flora wakes up in Pixie Hollow. At first, she thinks it all to be a dream, only to be proven otherwise.

Whenever a new fairy was coming to Pixie Hollow, everyone knew the routine and knew what would happen. But it never bored them, it never made them annoyed or peeved. No, it always made them excited to see the new fairy, to meet and greet him or her.

However, this wasn't a fairy. No, far from it. For one thing, all of Pixie Hollow would've heard the sound of a baby's laugh and then a Fast Flying Fairy would normally use the wind to help the new fairy land in the Pixie Dust Tree where everyone else would be gathering at. Neither of these things had happened.

Redleaf, the Minister of Autumn, had been heading to the Tree to get his daily cup of Pixie Dust and that's when he saw her, just lying in the middle of the toadstool, curled into a small ball. Not knowing what to do he informed Queen Clarion of what he had seen and they had both flew back to check and make sure she was still there.

The other Ministers had been called to the Pixie Dust Tree for an emergency conference. The woman still hadn't stirred. She just stayed curled, not moving a single muscle.

She most definitely wasn't a fairy; as far as Redleaf knew, she hadn't been 'awoken' by Pixie Dust. She also wasn't wearing the usual clothing that a new fairy would be wearing; strange blue leggings and an equally strange white coat. She also didn't have any wings and, although it wasn't unheard of for a fairy to be born without them, Redleaf still didn't think she could've been a fairy.

She also didn't appear to be breathing.

Completely forgetting his small 'conference' with the other Ministers and the Queen, he slowly approached the young woman.

"Redleaf, what are you doing?" Queen Clarion inquired.

He hesitated and addressed her. "I am just checking to be sure she's in good health, Your Majesty."

Clarion nodded and he continued to approach her, a nervous feeling stirring deep in his belly. Landing softly beside her, he knelt down to inspect her more closely. Thankfully, she was indeed breathing. Just barely. "Hello?" He said.

She didn't stir.

Redleaf took a breath and reached out to gently shake her shoulder. Before his hand had even touched her, the woman's eyes shot open and her hand snatched at his wrist. A deep, heavy gasp escaped her lips, as if she had just surfaced deep from underwater.

"I'm alright!" The woman said.

/ / /

Whatever she grabbed, it didn't try to struggle away from her grip. At first, Flora didn't even want to know what she was holding onto due to what her eyes were already seeing.

Various tints and shades of orange, brown and red, some parts almost yellow. She didn't know what she was seeing, and she didn't feel like she wanted to know. However, whatever she was holding onto pulled back slightly.

"Are you alright?" A deep, calming voice asked her.

Still not letting go of whatever she was holding, she uncurled herself and sat up, rubbing at her eyes with her free hand. "Could be better, could be worse."

"Then would you mind letting go of my wrist?"

So that's what she was holding onto. She released the person's wrist and ran both hands through her short hair. "Sorry."

For several moments Flora tried to remember everything that had happened; she went for a run out in the forest. She remembered seeing a fairy. Correction; thinking she saw a fairy. She remembered chasing after it, losing it, throwing the jar and...

Then it was nothing. Completely blank.

"Minister, is she alright?"

 **Minister?**  She thought.

Flora finally took the time to look around, to try and figure out if she was still in the forest.

Upon (properly) opening her eyes, she was introduced to a gorgeous view.

A rising sun, casting various colours of red, purple, orange, pink and yellow. Shimmering light on a crystal clear river, reflecting ever so softly off the surface. Birds flew in the distance over a beautiful forest, the leaves almost a perfect shade of green. Flowers decorated the grass, creating a beautiful palette of colours.

It was all too good to be true.

"I knew it, I'm dead."

"And why would you think such a thing?"

Flora stood up, never taking her eyes off of the view. "Well, first off, your voice sounds like that of an angel's. Secondly, I was in a forest when I blacked out, I wasn't  _viewing_  a forest. This is all just so beautiful!"

Another voice, feminine and soft, said to her. "Yes, this is Pixie Hollow."

Flora nearly choked on her own spit. "What!?" Pixie Hollow; home of fairies, as her father had told her.

She whipped around on her heel to face whomever was speaking to her, half expecting them to look crazy.

The first person she saw was a man. A handsome man, at that. Although he was dressed rather oddly; various types of leaves all with the colours of autumn. It wasn't his looks or his clothes that made her hesitate, no, it wasn't either of these things.

The thing that made her hesitate the most was that this man had wings. Not wings like a bird or wings like a butterfly. His wings were that of a Fairy's.

Her jaw dropped slightly. "Uh..." Her eyes strayed past the man's shoulder and her jaw dropped further.

Three more Fairies, all with wings. One of them, however, was adorned in a glimmering gold dress with equally glimmering wings. "Uh.."

"Is something wrong?" The leaf fairy asked her.

She took several deep breaths, nearly on the verge of a panic attack. "Just... fine..."

The world around her began to spin and soon she didn't know where she was. She couldn't tell if she was standing or sitting, if she was talking or mumbling. She couldn't even think straight.

Once again, darkness overcame her.

/ / /

Redleaf was actually able to catch her before she hit the ground. She looked almost pale, but if she wasn't a fairy then what would a pale face even mean? Redleaf looked back at the other Ministers and Queen Clarion. "We should get her somewhere before others see her." He said.

Clarion nodded and they all started to fly in the direction of the chambers. Redleaf followed close behind them, carrying the young woman in his arms. Luckily, most of Pixie Hollow was still sleeping so they passed almost no other fairies on their way.

Once the doors closed Redleaf placed her down on a table, seeing as that was the only piece of furniture in the room. She once again curled in on herself.

"Could she be a human?" He asked.

Hyacinth was quick to answer. "But that's impossible, humans can't ever get into Pixie Hollow! She's far too small to be a human, anyhow!"

"Besides, there's only two possible ways to get into Pixie Hollow; you are a fairy coming back or you are a new fairy coming to Pixie Hollow."

The three Ministers started talking amongst one another, providing reasons as to how the young woman could've gotten into Pixie Hollow, if she's somehow a fairy, where she came from, anything to somehow explain her current presence. And what to do with her.

"She could be an endangerment to Pixie Hollow!" Hyacinth exclaimed. "How do we know she isn't the only one here?"

"We can't be hasty about this, Minister." Clarion said. "We first need to know how she got here and if there's a way we can send her back."

"And if there isn't?" Redleaf asked.

The doors suddenly opened and they all fell silent.

Queen Clarion addressed the fairy who entered. "Is there something you need, Tinkerbell?"

All of the Ministers cringed (some more physically than others) and turned to address the tinker fairy. "Queen Clarion, there's something I need to tell you!"

Clarion went around the table and in front of the woman on said table, hoping that Tinkerbell hadn't seen her. "It's good to see you made it safely back to Pixie Hollow."

Tinkerbell cringed and shuffled her feet. "Uh, yeah, about that..." she cleared her throat. "I was trying to be as safe as possible, I promise! I was going through the forest while following this rose petal to get back to Pixie Hollow, because I knew nobody would see me there!"

The woman stirred and Redleaf almost panicked, but he didn't dare turn to her. If Tinkerbell saw, who knew how quickly the news would spread?

"You see, it was also dark, so I thought that people would be asleep or just staying at home. Anyways, I was following this rose petal that I saw and I was hearing a baby's laugh from it. I didn't think that-"

Queen Clarion held up her hand in a calming gesture. "It's alright, Tinkerbell. Just tell us what happened."

The blonde fairy rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I may have, kind of, uh..."

A small amount of worry passed over the Ministers as Tinkerbell struggled to explain what had happened. Redleaf almost knew what happened without Tinkerbell even fully explaining herself.

"I think someone saw me." She concluded.

The woman stirred again and all three Ministers had been pushed forward, Hyacinth releasing an almost non virile yelp.

They all looked behind them and saw that she had rolled off the table, although she didn't seem to be affected much by her fall. She just groaned and curled back in on herself, toes curling and brows furrowing.

Clarion suppressed a sigh and moved slightly to the side, the secret now no longer such. Tinkerbell looked incredibly torn and almost frightened.

"Tinkerbell..." Queen Clarion said, her tone serious. "Do you know who saw you? Or what they looked like?"

"I don't really know. It was really dark and I was trying to fly-"

Clarion frowned and Tinkerbell sighed. "She almost looks like the person who saw me."

Almost as if on cue, the woman yawned and stretched out, her limbs cracking. "Mom? I had one of the strangest dreams..."

Flora sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I know you're not a fan of this stuff, but I dreamt that I was actually surrounded by fairies. There was this rather good looking one and-" once her eyes fully opened she sighed in disgust. "Are you bloody serious?!"

All eyes were on Flora as she stood from her spot on the floor. "And now, there's another one. A  _smaller_  one."

"That's definitely the one who saw me." The smaller fairy said.

"Saw you?" Flora asked, her head tilting to the side and her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Yeah, in the forest. Don't you remember?"

 **In the forest...**  Flora thought. "So that was  _you_  flying about, then, eh?"

"Yeah."

Flora took a deep breath, resting against the table. "So I'm not dreaming then?"

Nobody answered her. Nobody really wanted to, or even knew how to respond. Human emotions were almost foreign to them, they wouldn't know how she'd react to certain things.

"My name is Flora Irene Harrison," she started. "I'm from London, England. I live with my mother and younger sister in a cottage out in the country."

Once she felt strong enough (and not like she was going to faint.) She released her grip on the table and faced them. "And I... believe in fairies."

Silence. Deafening silence. The type that Flora was used to. However, this time, it was making her more and more nervous with each passing second. The golden fairy went and closed the doors. "Tinkerbell, whatever is said in here-"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise!"


	3. Temporary Home

"So that's all you can really remember?"

Flora nodded, taking another sip of her water (which was in a small tulip).

The golden fairy, Queen Clarion, asked her, "Can I ask where you got the Pixie Dust?"

Flora shrugged. "My father gave it to me for my birthday when I was little. He said that he saw fairies, once, and became friends with them. Once I was born, he said he asked for some Pixie Dust from the fairies, as some sort of gift for me. But that was years ago."

The flowery one, Hyacinth, was one who was quick when it came to conclusions. "So, if it took some Pixie Dust to get her here, then we could perhaps use some to get her back."

"Do you think it'll be that easy again?" Sunflower asked him. "Flora, you said you heard a baby's laughter when you broke the jar."

Flora nodded her head. "Mhm. I don't know if I somehow interrupted a new fairy's path or if I just... I don't know, this isn't a very logical situation so I can't seem to think of anything else."

Tinkerbell then spoke up. "Maybe we could reverse the Pixie Dust thing, somehow?"

"But how?" Flora asked.

"I don't really know, it's just something that came to me."

Queen Clarion addressed the Ministers. "Well, we can consult with the Keeper to see if here's been happenings like this in the past where, hopefully, we can figure this out." She then addressed Flora. "Until then, you are welcome here in Pixie Hollow."

Hyacinth looked almost uncertain. "Forgive me Your Majesty, but is that really wise? A human walking around Pixie Hollow?"

"I'm certain Fairies will seem unsure at first, but if they know that I am alright with her being here, then I'm sure they'll be eager to get to know her." Clarion responded.

Flora raised her hand as if she were back in a classroom. "I just wish to say that I don't wish to be meandering about on my own. This seems like a rather large place and I don't wish to get lost anywhere. Or get in the way of anyone."

"Queen Clarion, I could maybe show her around?" Tinkerbell offered. "I mean, my friends trust me and I think they'll understand."

"And if you were to be questioned; would you be able to stand that without getting confused?"

Tinkerbell shuffled her feet. "Maybe not..."

"Queen Clarion, if I may?" Redleaf, the leafy fairy that Flora had first seen, finally spoke up, having been silent throughout almost the whole conference. "Since Autumn has already been delivered to the Mainland, I would have a suitable amount of time to help care for her until she is properly situated and adjusted in Pixie Hollow."

Hyacinth sniffed. "Should you really be caring for her, though?"

Clarion turned her head and fixed a calm, yet almost unsettling, stare on him. "Are you offering to then, Minister?"

He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back. "Well, that is to say, should  _any_  Minister really be caring for this human? We have very important work to do and-"

"Forgive me for interrupting, but could you perhaps stop speaking as if I weren't even in the room?" Flora asked. "From what I've been hearing so far, Ministers are like leaders of their own Season, and have very important work to do. I don't wish to be a burden on anyone here."

"Ministers are there to oversee and ensure that the preparations for a season, be it Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter, are going well and that it will arrive on time." Redleaf informed her. "We assist fairies who need it, and we help whenever something goes amiss. I assure you, you are not a burden to anyone."

Flora considered all of this for a moment. Despite that the sparrow man had said, she still didn't want to get in the way. But she also didn't want to get lost either. She also didn't want to be scrutinized and be asked constant questions by other fairies without someone being there to help her in case something got out of hand.

Taking a deep breath and standing from her seat, she nodded her head. "Alright, then. But if I start to become annoying at all, just let me know."

Queen Clarion smiled. "It's decided then. Redleaf, you may take her to the Autumn Forest and help her find a place to stay. We're going to call in all of the fairies in the warm seasons to the Pixie Dust Tree to explain what is going on so we avoid any conflict."

Redleaf approached Flora and held out a hand to her. "If you'll follow me, Miss Flora."

"Just Flora, please. I feel old when someone calls me 'miss'." Flora joked.

"Of course."

Once they were both out of the large room, Hyacinth said to Clarion, "I still am wondering if this is a good idea, your majesty."

"Until we can find out how to get her back home, or if we can get her back home at all, this is the best we can do."

/ / /

Because Flora, obviously, could not fly, she and Redleaf had to take the stairway that was built into the Pixie Dust Tree. It was a long way down and it felt like a long time for her and it was almost awkward for her; she didn't know what to say, or if she should say anything at all. If she were with perhaps a younger fairy, namely Tinkerbell, she would feel more comfortable with speaking to someone.

Her anxiousness must have been pretty obvious to Redleaf. "There's no need to feel worried or nervous, Flora. I'm certain that you have many questions."

Flora stayed silent for a brief moment, brushing her fingers along the tall strands of grass. "Well, you did say that there are preparations for each season." She looked up at him. "What does that mean? What sort of preparations are there?"

"Each fairy here has a special talent, a natural gift, that allows them to contribute to Pixie Hollow. There are leaf fairies, garden fairies, tinker fairies, and much more."

"But how does that prepare for a season."

"Let's use a leaf-talent fairy as an example." Redleaf gestured to the area around them. "They are fairies that help with the changing of the trees. In the spring, the leaves must begin to bloom on the branches. In the summer, the leaves are painted a deep green. In autumn, the leaves must change their colours to vast arrays of orange, red, yellow, even pink. This is the work of a leaf-talent fairy."

Flora cocked her head to the side, now extremely curious. "So, leaf fairies just  _paint_  the leaves? That's why the trees change colour in the fall?"

"Yes."

"Interesting... I've also noticed that some leaves in the fall sometimes can have little bits of green left in them; what does that usually mean?"

"That is usually a sign of a fairy's unfinished work, so they must take care when finishing them so they are not spotted."

She then smiled brightly. "Fascinating! Are there fairies that can harvest fruits and vegetables? Or fairies that can plant flowers and help them grow?"

He looked down at the young human, almost amused by the child-like curiosity. "Yes, there are. And much more."

"Can fairies travel in between seasons?" She then asked, brushing her fingers along the tall grass. "I mean, can a fairy who works in Summer visit Winter and can fairies in Spring visit Autumn?"

He seemed to hesitate at that. "Until most recently, warm season fairies were never able to visit the Winter Woods, a cold season. The same went for cold season fairies to visit the warm seasons. A fairy's wings are most delicate and if a warm season fairy were to visit the cold season, their wings could freeze and possibly break, and if a cold season fairy were to visit the warm seasons, their wings could become frail and break. A fairy cannot fly with a broken wing."

A small, almost inaudible gasp escaped Flora and she turned her attention back to the grass. She had never considered something like that in any of her theories; she had merely assumed that all Fairies were able to work together to make the season, no matter if it were a cold or hot one. She had never put a fairy's wings into consideration.

Her hand strayed over a few strands of grass that were turning into a deep gold and she stopped in her steps to inspect them. "What's all this then?" She asked herself, gently pulling at the grass. The golden parts didn't  _feel_  dead like most grass would; it still felt fresh, like green grass. It also didn't flake when she rubbed it between her fingers.

Redleaf couldn't help but smile, once again, at her child-like curiosity. For a young woman whom of which was practically taken from her own home, she was already adjusting well to her current surroundings. Not that he really blamed her, either; Pixie Hollow was truly a beautiful place. Despite that he had been living in Pixie Hollow for several years, there were moments when he himself would be gazing out the Pixie Dust Tree as the sun rose over the hills, watching as it all came to life.

Flora looked off and found the reasons for the grass turning to gold, for just up the path, there was a beautiful forest filled with stunning and vibrant colours. The grass slowly faded from green to golden as it became closer to the forest, blending in perfectly with the palette of colours.

"Oh my..." Was all that she could muster.

Placing a gentle hand on her back, Redleaf ushered her forward. "Welcome to the Autumn Woods."

"Mhm..."

Flora's eyes darted between the archway of trees, in awe of the soft golden glow they gave off as the sun shone down on the leaves. She took a deep, but shaky, breath, reveling in the fresh and crispy scent of the Autumn air. "My word..."

Redleaf suddenly noticed a single tear crawling down her cheek and he immediately became concerned. "Miss Flora?"

She sniffled and wiped at the tear. "No, I'm sorry, I'm fine. It's just..." She spun on her heel, getting a full view of the archway of trees. "This... it's all so beautiful. Not a single painter in the world could recreate this image. I have never seen such an amazing bit of scenery like this in my life."

He looked around himself. He had lived in the Autumn Forest for the whole of his life, so it was all just a natural place for him to be in. Never once had he really taken the time to consider the true beauty of his own home, to take a look at the finer details. He never really took much time for himself other than to read or sleep, any other time he was often overseeing the work that the fairies did, and that was all. He did appreciate the work they did, with every fibre of his being, but he never once had looked at their work as a whole.

"To think there's more than just the Autumn Forest here," she continued. "I can only imagine what everything else looks like."

Redleaf smiled. "In time, I am certain you can visit the other seasons. For now, I will show you to where you will be staying."

She looked up at him, almost in shock. "Fairies have homes to live in?"

"Yes. Contrary to what may be a popular belief, fairies do not always work. We must rest, like you humans must do." He flew slightly ahead of her and she followed close beside him, still looking around and taking in the sights.

Once again, silence fell between the two as Redleaf escorted her to a small house. Fairies were always making new ones, because nobody knew when a new fairy would be coming to Pixie Hollow, so they were always prepared. He believed he knew the perfect one for her. It was at a ground level with a stairway up, so it wouldn't be too difficult for her to get in or out of it.

As soon as Flora caught sight of the small home she was immediately fascinated with it. "Oh, wow!"

It was a humble but beautiful home; constructed from the narrow trunk of a Birch Tree. The roof was made out of the caps of acorns, arranged so perfectly that there was not a single hole in sight. The windows were rounded and had twigs to make the frames and the door was made from the cap of a mushroom, the handle made from part of the stem. The stairway leading up to the small home were a series of toadstools, all a deep brown colour.

She raised one foot and tested the first stair, slowly stepping onto it. "The toadstool is perfectly healthy; how is that?"

"In Pixie Hollow, everything is made with extra care. No matter what it is, as long as it's attached to something living, it never dies."

"Fascinating!" She said, slowly making her way up the stairs, Redleaf following behind her. As Flora slowly opened the door and walked inside, her jaw nearly dropped.

Redleaf cleared his throat, momentarily catching her attention. "If you will excuse me, I must attend the meeting back at the Pixie Dust Tree. I will be back shortly."

All Flora could do was nod her head and he closed the door behind him, leaving her to explore the small home. The outside of the home was already beautiful, but the inside was absolutely extraordinary!

There were two floors; the first floor was obviously a living space. There was a table made from wood off to the side near a well constructed fireplace, made from a vast array of pebbles. In front of the table were two stools made from tiny mushrooms, which she found to be rather cute. Off to the other side there was what looked to be like a closet, something she would look into at a later time. She looked up to see that there was indeed a ceiling, made from what looked like a dark Oak wood and looking down, so was the floor. The stairway up to the second level was also made from smaller toadstools, the railing made from small vines. She walked up the stairs and was introduced to a bedroom.

There was a small 'rug' made from a large Spruce leaf just in front of the bed. The bed itself was fairly large, looked as if it could fit two people if you tried. The bed frame was made from twigs and golden grass strands and the bed sheets were made from orange and yellow spruce leaves. Curious, she lifted part of the sheet and saw that underneath was a thin layer of cotton and the mattress was also made from cotton, something that almost surprised her. Beside the bed was a small nightstand with drawers.

She sat on the bed for a few moments, thinking to herself that if her mother were to see all of this, she would've surely believed then. Flora sharply reminded herself that she could very well still be dreaming and, if she wasn't, then her mother and sister would surely be worried sick. Of course, that's not to say that Flora couldn't still enjoy herself here in Pixie Hollow. After all, back home, she's only really considered as a strange person, one that people tended to stay away from.

Sighing heavily, Flora stood from the bed and went back down to the first floor, curious to see what was in the closet. Upon opening it, she saw a row of Autumn coloured clothes. She immediately took one off of a hanger, made from paperclips (which  _did_  surprise her). She took off her jacket and her undershirt, trying on the coat.

It was far too large for her, the leaves touching the floor. She looked into the mirror on one of the closet doors (once again another thing that surprised her) and sighed and looked around, hoping to find something to help her with adjusting the clothing.

On the table she noticed some items that almost looked like tools. She recognized one piece as a sewing needle, made from a sharpened paperclip and another piece that almost looked like a pair of scissors, made from sharpened shells. The other tools she didn't completely recognize but she was sure to find out what they all did.

Taking the coat off of her and spreading it out on the table, Flora took the scissors and started clipping at the coat, adjusting it bit by bit.

/ / /

Redleaf flew back into the Autumn Forest, appearing calm as ever. However, inside he was a bundle of nerves and emotion. The fairies at the Tree, as expected, were shocked and somewhat concerned over hearing that a human was in Pixie Hollow. Luckily, Queen Clarion was able to calm them down and reassure them. However, it wasn't that that made him feel so stressed. It was after that caused him to be in this state.

Queen Clarion had sent one of the Messenger Fairies to the Winter Woods to inform Lord Milori and The Keeper of the current situation and, upon the fairy's return, they discovered that The Keeper had no records of humans getting into Pixie Hollow and, therefore, there was no known way to get her back to the Mainland.

Redleaf sighed, feeling pity for the young woman. He was unsure of how he was going to tell her of her current situation, but he had to tell her nonetheless.

Redleaf flew up to the house and knocked gently on the door. "Miss Flora?"

"Come in."

He slowly opened the door and looked around, finding Flora in front of the mirror, shocked to see that she had changed her clothing.

She had kept her leggings on, but he saw that she had removed her coat and what looked to be like a shirt. One of the hangers was empty so he assumed that she had used one of the pre-made pieces of clothing. She had trimmed it down so it went past her waist and she had even adjusted the sleeves as well, smaller pieces of spruce leaves being used as shoulder pads of sorts. She even made a small pair of shoes for herself.

"I see you've adjusted quickly here." He said to her.

She turned and smiled. "Yeah. I majored in Fashion Design back home so it was pretty easy to figure out the designs and my measurements. Figuring out how the tools worked was the hard part."

He smiled at that. His face then turned back to it's usual calm appearance as he remembered what he was about to tell her. "So, we had consulted the Keeper about trying to get you back home."

Her head shot up at that. "Yes, and is there a way?"

Redleaf took a breath. "There has been no history of humans coming to Pixie Hollow. There is no known way of getting you back."

Flora's face fell and she released a deep sigh, sitting on one of the stools and resting her head in her hands. "My mother is going to die of a heart attack. Then my sister will probably kill me..."

His eyes widened with shock. "Why would she do such a thing?"

Flora snorted. "Not literally, mind you. But..." She sighed. "My mother and I, we have our differences but she still loves me. She has been overly protective of me, especially with my 'obsession' with fairies. If I'm missing for more than a few hours, she will panic. She tends to worry a lot if I'm gone for what she thinks is too long. My sister would probably give me a large bloody lecture of putting our mother through that."

He was still confused, but Redleaf ignored her statement, seeing that she did not mean it in a literal term. "We will be able to get you back home, but we just need time."

Flora nodded. "I understand, and I'm fine with that. I don't have too much to go back to other than my family, so there isn't too much of a rush."

"Do you not have friends who would worry about your disappearance?"

"Define 'friends'." She stated, shrugging her shoulders. "It's a small world. I'm pretty well known in my community for believing in fairies and a lot of people thought I was pretty much crazy. They tended to avoid me and any friends I did make, ones that were true, went on to live normal lives. Me? I just stayed home."

"They estranged you just for believing in fairies?"

"Not very many people do believe in them where I live. It's a sad but painful truth and you're deemed crazy if you believe in something or do something thought to be nothing more than simple follies."

She sighed again and brushed her short hair back. "No use in dwelling on that now." She stood up and straightened her shirt. "I'm here, and there's no better time to focus on then the now."

Redleaf was almost amazed at how quickly she was able to brush that off, almost as if it wasn't important. He thought it would be upsetting to be almost estranged from any other sort of contact just for a simple thing. It was also upsetting to see that she was almost used to it.

"If it isn't too much hassle, I would truly love to see more of the Autumn Forest." Flora said, a sheepish grin spreading on her face.

He smiled back at her. "Of course."


	4. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flora begins to become rather curious about the world of Pixie Hollow. The questions are more than welcome by Redleaf, the Minister of Autumn, but there are some questions he'd wished were left unasked.

"So, what is there to see here in the Autumn Forest?"

"There is plenty of areas here in Autumn; Cottonpuff Field, the Pumpkin Patch, Maple Tree Hill, the Apple Orchard-"

"You have an Apple Orchard?!"

Redleaf nearly jumped at Flora's sudden burst of exuberance, looking down at her. "Yes, we do."

A bright smile spread across her lips. "I've always wanted to see an Apple Orchard! I wanted to go to one when I was little but my mother had gotten sick on the day we planned to go."

"I take it you wish to go there, first?"

She nodded. "Yes, please."

Once again, the Minister of Autumn had to fly a lot slower than what he was used to due to Flora's inability to fly. Not that he minded, really, as her excitement was somewhat refreshing for him. "Now, the fairies here are not exactly used to... humans, being around Pixie Hollow. So, forgive me if they seem-"

Flora held up a hand. "I doubt that how they'll react to me will be any different than how others did back home. I understand any concern or caution they may have around me."

He pursed his lips. "Forgive me for asking, Miss-"

Flora shot him a look and he cleared his throat. "Flora. Forgive me for asking but, how can you be so...  _calm_  about how others treated you back on the Mainland?"

She was confused. "How do you mean?"

"I mean how are you okay with how your own people treated you back home?" He rephrased his question. "From what I have heard, they did not treat you too kindly."

Now realizing what he meant, she just shrugged her shoulders and kicked at a small pebble. "Well, it's not really a matter of being 'okay', but really a matter of learning to ignore it and walk away."

"But how?"

She shrugged again. "When you're someone like me, you  _will_  get picked on a lot. Being different or believing in something different can often result in others turning their backs or considering you as strange. I believed - er, well,  _believe_  in fairies. A lot of people don't believe and that made me almost a stranger to them. I got teased a lot when I was going to school, I heard people talking about me when they thought I couldn't hear them. But, I had learned to just let it go."

"All because you were different?"

"Basically."

Redleaf shook his head, appalled at what he was hearing. "That isn't right."

Flora's head shot up at that. "I beg your pardon?"

Redleaf gestured around them. "Here in Pixie Hollow, every fairy and sparrow man is unique. They all have their special talents and they all appear different. They wear different clothes, have different hair, eyes and bodies. Here, it does not matter who you are or which Season you come from, you are equal to one another. Your talent does not define your worth or value as each one has an equal amount of importance. To hear something like this it... it almost sickens me."

He was one of the most calm and collected of the four Ministers, always keeping a level head and a level temper. However, hearing such atrocities was enough to make him almost angry. Everything he had just spoken was true; everyone was an equal at Pixie Hollow. He had never seen or heard anything even close to what Flora was telling him.

Flora was almost startled at his outburst of emotion. She wasn't prepared for something like that, nor was she used to it. Sure, there were people who would tell her that whomever was picking on her was just a low-life or someone of less importance, but never in her life had someone ever shown such emotion because of how people treated her. "Well, that's all in the past. I prefer to focus on the now. And right now," her smile finally returned to her. "I'm off to see an Apple Orchard."

Redleaf decided to let go of the subject, seeing that Flora wasn't very keen on continuing the discussion anyhow. "Well, the apples won't be quite as small as what you're used to, but they're apples nonetheless."

/ / /

Flora could smell the Orchard far before she even saw it. She sniffed at the air, the new fruity scent filling her nostrils. "Oh, it smells wonderful!"

Redleaf smiled. "Have you not smelled an apple before?"

She tutted him. "Of course I have! Just not fresh and on the trees. That's when they smell the best."

The archway of trees ended and they both walked into a wide and open field with trees all in neat and straight lines. Flora could see a few fairies flying to and from different trees. Some fairies were even sitting near or just flying beside an apple with what looked to be a small pail in hand.

"Are they painting the apples?" She asked Redleaf.

"Yes. All apples turn red when they are ripe, just like how leaves in Autumn change their colours."

Flora smiled again. "Oh, this is all just so fascinating!"

"Heads up!"

Flora hardly had any time to react before an apple fell just beside her and she jumped on her one foot, landing almost gracefully on the other. Cautiously, she poked at it with her foot, almost as if expecting it to come alive.

A young sparrow man flew down to the ground in front of Flora. "Sorry, some of these things tend to just fall on their own."

Flora poked at it one last time before relaxing herself. "Oh, no worries, hon." She smiled reassuringly at the sparrow man. He was dressed accordingly to his season, as expected. Brown leggings and a vest made of Autumn leaves. He had an acorn cap for a hat, which she found adorable. It covered most of his black hair, but not entirely.

He almost looked nervous but he held out his hand to her. "I'm Nettle."

She gladly shook his hand. "I'm Flora. I take it you work here in the Orchard?"

Nettle nodded his head. "Yup. I pick the apples whenever they're ripe enough."

"A fruit-picking fairy?"

"That's right!"

Flora smiled and cocked her head slightly to the side. "That sounds fairly interesting, and probably more complicated than it sounds."

"Maybe I could show you sometime, if you're up for it?"

"Maybe sometime."

He nodded his head and lifted himself from the ground, his wings fluttering quietly. "Well, I should maybe get back to work. I'll maybe see you around later."

He waved at her and she waved back before he flew back up to the top of the apple tree and Flora gave Redleaf a look. He became uncertain of himself under her gaze. "Was there something I said?"

She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. "You said they may act nervous around me. From who I've met so far, they seem rather kind."

Redleaf nodded his head. "I will admit, I was surprised at how well he acted. He didn't seem nervous. Which is a good thing."

She nodded her head in agreement. "I suppose." She then clapped her hands. "Now, I have actually seen and been in an Orchard. I'll explore it a bit later but for now, I will go to whichever place you take me!"

He bowed slightly and gestured ahead of him. "Of course. If you'll follow me..."

/ / /

The more time that Flora spent around the Minister, the more comfortable she actually felt. She asked questions and he would answer them, with fine detail if she might add. He never appeared annoyed with her constant questions, he sometimes actually looked almost happy to be answering her questions.

Of course, unbeknownst to her, Redleaf was quite enjoying the company. Normally he would be going around the Autumn Forest to check upon the fairies and their work, but never would he actually be getting in their way. A gentle reminder here, a slight correction there, but he would never actually do the work. He believed that the fairies were plenty capable of their work and he did not wish to interfere with it. However, despite that he would be surrounded by the many fairies, they never actually  _talked_  with him. Being a Minister could have its downsides, and one of them being that not very many of the fairies would wish to speak with him just for casual conversation. Unless it was something important, he was never bothered. Of course, there were the other Ministers, but they were normally busy with their own work and assisting with the preparations of their own Seasons.

Of course, it also wasn't just the friendly conversations that he enjoyed. It was also enjoyable to see Flora frolicking about the Autumn Forest, a smile always on her face and her eyes beaming with curiosity. The constant complimenting of the place he calls home also made him feel proud and glad that it's making someone happy.

After visiting the Maple Hills , Acorn Summit, Cottonpuff Field and Pumpkin Patch, it had started to become late and Redleaf thought it best to take her back to her home.

On the way back, she started asking him questions once again. "So, I had asked earlier about fairies and if there were Weather fairies and the like. I have a question about that."

"Yes?"

"Do those fairies create things such as Tornadoes or Earthquakes?"

He suddenly stopped and turned to face Flora. "'Tornadoes' and 'earthquakes'?" He asked.

"We call them 'natural disasters" back on the Mainland. Tornadoes are these big whirlwinds, they can practically destroy anything in their path. Earthquakes are, well, quakes withing the earth. They can split the ground the way I could split a twig."

Redleaf looked almost pale at her statements, something that concerned her. "No." Was his only response.

"Well, then, what does?" She asked.

He cleared his throat and continued to fly to where Flora's home was. "Perhaps it could just be unnatural surges in a fairy's work."

Flora gave him a look, almost unable to believe him. He had answered her pretty fast and that made her question if what he was saying was completely true. She didn't know how he'd react to her next question, but his reaction could tell her a lot. "What about Dark Fairies?"

His face paled even farther and there was a worried look in his eyes. He had said nothing in that moment, but for Flora that told her more than what a thousand words could tell her.

He swallowed and then said, "The only fairies here are the ones in Pixie Hollow. Beyond that, there is none."

"Redleaf?"

He looked down at her and was met with one of the most desperate, hurt eyes he ever saw. He knew that was what the humans called the "puppy dog" eyes, but he still couldn't help but feel guilty at the face she was making. "I can tell you're lying to me. If you can't say anything about it, then say so."

"I can, but it can just be a... sensitive topic." He responded.

"So there are Dark Fairies?"

"Yes, there are."

"So are they the ones who cause those kinds of natural disasters? Do they cause storms or tsunamis?"

The flood of questions suddenly felt overwhelming for Redleaf. Not that he didn't want to answer her questions, but he was just concerned that he might not have the sufficient knowledge to properly answer them. "I cannot provide the answers for you, but Pixie Hollow has a library. Tomorrow, I can take you there."

"There's a library?" She then asked.

He released a breath as he distracted Flora from the previous discussion. "Yes. There is a library for fairies if they wish to research certain things. There's Light Reading, Dustology, Wingology, and much more."

"Fascinating!" She exclaimed (for what felt like almost the hundredth time that day).

They stopped at the bottom of the toadstool stairs and Flora shuffled her feet. "Today was rather enjoyable."

"I'm glad you found it as such, Flora."

She released a contented sigh. "So I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then?"

"Indeed."

She nodded then walked up the stairs and he briefly heard her say the word 'fascinating' again as she tested the last toadstool. Probably referring to how fresh it was.

As soon as she closed the door, Redleaf's smile disappeared and he flew to the Pixie Dust Tree with haste. Flora's questions about the Dark Fairies had concerned him far more than what she realized.

She was a bright and honest young woman, which he was glad for, but if she even knew a little bit about them, it could very well lead to trouble. Trouble that Pixie Hollow didn't need.

/ / /

A knock sounded at the door, which Queen Clarion found confusing. It was late and most fairies would be asleep by now. She hadn't sent Viola out to send a message or to retrieve anyone, so she wasn't expecting anyone.

"Queen Clarion?"

She released a breath at the sound of the Minister of Autumn's voice. "Come in."

As soon as those words went past her lips the doors burst open to reveal a very disheveled Redleaf, which made her even more concerned. Redleaf was the most calmest and collected of the Ministers. If he was worried then she had every reason to be as well. "Is there something wrong, Minister?"

"It's the young human, Flora."

"Did something happen to her?"

He shook his head, trying his best to gather his thoughts. "No, everything is fine. Today went well, actually, but that's not why I'm here, Your Majesty. You see, she was asking a lot of questions..."

Clarion cocked her head slightly, her brows furrowing. "I see nothing wrong with that, Minister."

He shook his head again. "It wasn't the questions that I'm concerned for, it's a  _specific_  thing she asked about that concerns me."

The more Redleaf spoke, the more concerned Clarion became. Redleaf would always be to the point and never 'beat around the bush', even when he was worried he would always be direct in expressing said worry. "Redleaf, what exactly did she ask about that is concerning you so greatly?"

His hazel eyes darted around the room, checking to be sure that there were no other fairies within the vicinity then, leaning in he whispered, "She had asked me about Dark Fairies."

Queen Clarions' eyes widened and her face visibly blanched, her wings twitching out of both fear and disgust. Not towards Flora, no, she was an innocent human, one who did not fully understand Fairies. It was towards the simple utterance of Dark Fairies that made her react so visibly. "Why?"

A small shrug of his shoulder. "She had only been asking about these 'natural disasters', as she called them, and then she asked if Dark Fairies were responsible for them."

"Did you tell her anything?"

"No." He responded. "I had told her that there was possibly more information on them at our Library, but I am not sure if that was a wise decision." He began to ramble, then, his nervousness getting the best of him. "I had panicked and I truly did not want to answer her about.. them. Forgive me, but it was-"

Clarion held up her hand. "Redleaf, please, you had done everything you could do in that situation. You took it very well and that is more than enough."

The Minister nodded his head and cleared his throat. "What do you suggest we do?"

"We let her conduct her research. As I said before, Minister, she is an innocent young human. So far she has only shown good intentions and, as far as I know, she did well around other fairies today. I doubt she has any malicious plans and if she did, she would have been putting them in action."

Redleaf nodded, the concern slowly dying down at the Queen's words. "Very well."

An afterthought struck Clarion. "The other Ministers do not need to know of this. We do not wish for them to worry themselves, especially Snowflake and Hyacinth. Lord Milori will be informed of this in the morning, as he has a right to know."

She was right, Redleaf knew. With Autumn having been delivered to the Mainland, Snowflake already had a lot of pressure on her shoulders and she didn't need anymore pressure. Hyacinth  _especially_  didn't need to know, as he was the biggest worrier out of all of them. He also had clearly expressed his distrust towards the young human earlier that day, so he did not need more reason to not trust her. And Lord Milori? He was basically the King of Winter. As a ruler and overseer of Winter, he should know just in case things went awry.

He nodded. "Of course, Queen Clarion."

She folded her hands in front of her. "Good. Now, you should go home and rest. It's late."

He bowed and made his leave. Despite her calming words, Redleaf could still feel the edge of his apprehension eating at him. It was barely there, but it was still making itself known in his mind. He huffed and shook his head.

It had only been a day and he was already worried for Flora and the trouble that she could get into.


	5. A Tad Bit Hungry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flora ends up a tad bit hungry and, not knowing that fairies did indeed eat, gets herself in quite a predicament in an attempt to get some food.

Redleaf calmly approached Flora's home, now feeling ready to face whatever things she may ask about the Dark Fairies.

He had been up for the majority of the evening thinking about all of the things  _bad_  that could happen, the  _negative_  things that could be discovered. However, after a long period of time of dwelling on all of the negative things, Redleaf finally learned that that was the complete opposite of what he should be thinking about.

So, he focused on the positive. As Queen Clarion had told him the previous evening, Flora was an innocent and young human. And from what she had told him, she was merely interested in fairies, their talents and their history. It was almost no different than if a Fairy were to be in the Mainland asking about conflicts. Besides, what harm could be done in learning about Dark Fairies? She is not directly interacting with them, which  _would_  be plenty reason to be as concerned as he had been.

He knocked on the door. "Miss Flora?"

Nothing sounded from within. Not even a small scuffle. So, he knocked again and called a little louder. "Flora?"

"Impeccable timing, Redleaf!" She called out, although not from within the home. He looked around, confused as to where she could be.

"No, I'm up here!"

Upon looking up, Redleaf nearly had a heart attack, for up on the highest of branches was Flora. In an instant he was flying up to her. "What in the name of Neverland are you doing up here?" He asked her, clearly concerned. " _How_  did you get up here?"

She gave him a face. "I climbed up. Who knew that this tree could be so climbable?" She then gave a nervous titter.

Redleaf looked around almost as if saying  _'is anyone else seeing this?'_. "Why, for the love of all things good, are you even up here?!"

"Well, I saw that the home here was attached to a Mulberry Tree," she pointed up, "And I saw that there were Mulberries up near the top. I was a tad bit hungry and never tried Mulberries before, so I decided to go and get one."

Redleaf had a hard time believing what he was hearing. Did humans not think fairies ate, either?

"So, I had nearly gotten one but then a smaller branch ended up snapping under my foot. I lost my balance and fell to this lower branch." She shrugged. "And then I couldn't get back up. I also found out that I couldn't climb back down without possibly snapping my spine. Then you came along a short while after."

Redleaf suppressed a sigh. Despite that she was a smart woman, there were moments where, evidently, she could have a lapse in judgment. "I don't know if you're aware of this, Flora, but fairies do eat as well."

Flora's face blushed a bright red. "Oh..." She mumbled.

He then smiled and shook his head. "You can be rather whimsical, can't you?"

She shrugged and smiled a playful smile. "I do try." She then looked down from the branch she was sitting on, grimacing at the height. "Now, seeing as I have no other way down, would you perhaps mind helping me?"

Redleaf nodded and held out his arms, gently scooping the young woman into them. She released a small little yelp, not used to being picked up in such a manner. Almost as if it were an instinct she wrapped an arm around his neck and curled in closer to him. "Okay,  _now_  I'm somewhat scared."

He looked at Flora with an amused grin. "Do you not trust me?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. I trust you, but it just feels awkward being held at such a height. It's unnerving, in a sense."

"I see."

Carefully, Redleaf started flying back to the forest floor with Flora in his arms. She was fairly small, he knew, but he still expected humans to be somewhat heavier than a fairy. Not her; she felt extremely light as he carried her down.

Flora said nothing as the Sparrow Man carried her down. Not that much needed to be said in this moment, or that she wanted to say anything at all. Her head was leaning on the upper part of his chest and she could hear the faint sound of his heart beating. It was a slow beat compared to a human heartbeat, which surprised her. But it was almost enjoyable. As she breathed she could also smell a faint scent of pumpkins and cinnamon.

Once they had finally reached the ground, Redleaf gently set her down. "I don't think you should try climbing a tree until you know you can get down." He joked.

Flora stretched out her limbs, smiling along with him. "Well, for one, climbing is fun. Secondly, it  _looked_  like I could get down but I forgot that I'm not one for long jumps or falls. I'm not as big as I used to be."

"As much as that is true, you're still rather small for a human."

Her head snapped up and she crossed her arms, looking up at the Sparrow Man. "I am  _not_  as small as I look!" She stated, standing up a bit straighter (almost to the point that she was standing on her tip-toes).

Back home, that was one of her most prominent quotes whenever someone mentioned her size or height or, heaven forbid, joked about it. Flora was very defensive about her size as she didn't like that she was still shorter than the average woman, being about four-foot-eight. However, despite that Redleaf was almost towering over her (she guessed he was possibly six feet or at  _least_  five-foot-ten, considering she reached only barely to his chest), she wasn't about to let that bother her.

Redleaf was amused as he looked down at her, a chuckle escaping as her face turned to that of determination. "Very well, my dear. Now, you said that you were hungry?"

"A tad bit. Not as hungry as I normally would be, which is actually surprising." She cocked her head. "How often do fairies eat, by the way?"

"As often as you humans do, although in smaller quantities." He started to fly towards the Pixie Dust Tree and Flora followed beside him. "Despite that, there are actually many food-talent fairies in Pixie Hollow. Some specialize in cooking while others specialize in baking."

"Interesting."

Redleaf's brows furrowed. "Forgive me if this seems personal, Flora, but I could not help but notice when you smile that you have... sharper teeth. Is that common among humans?"

Flora was briefly confused before realizing what he meant. "You mean these?" She slightly opened her jaw and pointed at her cuspids.

"Yes."

She nodded. "Yes, it is. These are called the cuspids, or canine teeth."

"Why would you need them, though?"

She hesitated at his question. Despite knowing that fairies were generally peaceful and possibly wouldn't eat meat products, she still for the life of her didn't know if they had the same jaw as a human would due to the fact that humans ate meat as much as they did fruits and vegetables. There were some tougher fruits and vegetables that would require the cuspids, but they were more meant for tearing and shredding. "Ah, well, you see; humans are actually omnivores. We eat both meat and fruits and vegetables. The cuspids are meant to tear and shred and slice things like meat."

Redleaf's stomach churned at the idea of eating meat. He must've paled or something because Flora was quick to reassure him. "Humans don't  _have_  to eat meat at all. As a matter of fact, despite that my father hunted, I never really ate meat. I prefer my fruits and vegetables."

He released a small breath. "Fairies don't eat meat, if you were wondering."

"I gathered as much." She replied.

Once they were out of the Autumn Forest, Flora could see several fairies going to and from the Pixie Dust Tree. She didn't need to ask anything as she knew that fairies needed Pixie Dust in order to fly. That much she knew, at least.

"So, whereabouts would the library be?" She asked him.

"Within the Pixie Dust Tree, we have a large selection of books in which you could conduct your research."

She nodded, excited to see the library. She remembered working at a library once, she had truly enjoyed it, as it was quiet and generally away from too many people and it was very handy in helping her know several different authors and the works they normally did.

"Oh, who writes the books? Are there writing-fairies?"

"The Keeper is the one who writes all of the books." He answered her. "He is the one who writes all things about fairies and their history. If there is anything new discovered, he will rewrite the book that which relates to the new discovery."

She puffed. "Seems like a lot of work."

"It's a lot of work for a lot of fairies, which is very important. Without a history, how do we know what to do or where we come from?"

Flora nodded in agreement. "That is true."

As they both neared the Pixie Dust Tree, Flora passed by more and more fairies. Most of them would give her a short glance before going about their business, others seemed to not notice her at all. Not that she minded much, as she didn't usually like staring eyes. Flora also realized that they would have to take the stairs up again in order to reach the upper levels of the Tree.

"Um, is there a different way up? Other than the stairs?" She asked the Minister.

"Other than flying, I don't believe so."

Flora sighed heavily.

/ / /

Flora practically dragged herself up the last few stairs, breathing deeply and heavily. Redleaf had offered to carry her but, seeing that if they were to meet any other fairies, it would have been awkward. That, and she didn't want to tire his arms out.

She lied herself flat on the floor, releasing a deep and ragged groan. "There has  _got_  to be a better way than the stairs..." She complained.

"You can hardly climb stairs and yet you were able to climb a tall tree."

She picked herself up and straightened out her shirt. "Yes, but climbing a tree is easier than climbing stairs."

Redleaf smirked. "Perhaps you should sprout a pair of wings, then."

"Wings would be nice." She breathed. She then pointed to his. "What about you? Do fairies ever grow tired when flying?"

He briefly glanced at his wings and gave them a little flutter. "Not that I'm aware of. I've never flown to the point of exhaustion, if there is any."

"Mm."

A low grumble resonated from Flora's stomach and she casually crossed her arms, albeit lower than what they'd normally be crossed at. "I think I may have found part of the reason for my exhaustion."

Reminded of her hunger, Redleaf gently ushered her down a corridor. "I think I may know something that could help."

/ / /

Flora didn't realize how much Pixie Hollow was like London. They had libraries, they had their own form of careers or jobs, and they had their own restaurants, something which Flora was currently grateful for. As she smelled at the air, her belly grumbled once more. "My goodness..." She muttered to herself.

Redleaf showed her to the table closest to an open window, where she got an excellent view of Pixie Hollow. She sat herself down on one of the mushroom stools and looked out the window with awe. "Do you come here often?" She asked him.

"Occasionally." He replied, taking a seat across from her.

A young fairy approached their table. Most likely a waiting-talent fairy of sorts, Flora thought. She had a green leaf in one hand and a small stick, most likely a pencil, in the other. She bowed her head slightly towards the Minister and smiled. "The usual for you?"

He nodded. "Of course."

She turned her head then to Flora and looked almost surprised. She was quick to regain her composure, however. "And for you, miss?"

She looked unsure as her eyes darted from Redleaf to the Waitress. "Well, how's about you surprise me?"

The young fairy nodded and wrote something down on the leaf. "I'll be back shortly." She then flew in between the tables and into a back room. Flora leaned in on the wooden table and said to Redleaf, "I'm surprised on how well fairies are still taking me being here."

He thought back to when the fairies had been called to the Pixie Dust Tree; the majority of them were extremely concerned and he heard some fairies sitting nearby talking about how she got in, and if she was dangerous or not. Queen Clarion, of course, was able to calm them down and after a brief speech about Flora, they all were nodding in agreement or shrugging at one another. "Well, they do not mind humans as we have to go to the Mainland every year, but they aren't used to seeing one in Pixie Hollow. It will pass with time, of course." He reassured her.

She gave him a small smile and stared back out to Pixie Hollow. She could see the Winter Woods and the Spring Valley from where she was sitting, both of which were looking exceptionally beautiful. Winter was filled with high mountains and tall trees, all covered in ice and snow. It was very solid, almost blending perfectly together from pure white to soft blue. The Spring Valley was, of course, bursting with bright colours. Deep pinks, vibrant purples, golden yellows, and of course, a fresh spring green. As she breathed, mixes of fresh air and freshly-made food would fill her nostrils. Compared to London, Pixie Hollow was almost pure, clean, free of taint. London? There was unclean air, war going on around them, murder in the streets. She could relax here, she knew. She didn't have to fear judgment or pain or heartbreak.

But what about her family? Time passed in Pixie Hollow the same way that time passed in London. She would have been reported missing almost the same day she had gone out to run. If she didn't get back home soon, her family would probably think her dead. She remembered Redleaf saying that there was no known way of getting her back home, so it was more than likely that that would happen. And if she were to return home? Things would go back to being the same. Or she could be sent off to the Mental Asylum, if her family believed her to be so crazy as to run away from home for the sake of fairies.

Flora was startled out of her thoughts when Redleaf cleared his throat. "Flora? Is something wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, nothing is wrong. I'm just thinking, is all."

Redleaf's wings fluttered slightly. He knew something was amiss. From when he was a young sparrow man, he had a keen sense of when someone wasn't feeling their best, emotionally or physically. Of course, humans could be different, but judging from the look on her face and the sorrow in her eyes, he could tell that she was missing something. He decided not to press the matter, however.

The Waitress returned with two dishes (which Flora noticed were made from sea shells) and placed one in front of each of them. "Enjoy." She bowed her head and turned to wait on another table. Flora immediately recognized Redleaf's dish as a slice of cherry pie (or was it strawberry?), fresh out of the oven judging from the steam rising from it. Flora didn't recognize what her food was at first, seeing as the fairies had made it with a small twist. However, after taking a piece off with her fork (once again, she was surprised with how alike Pixie Hollow and London were as far as technology went), she recognized it as a Peach Tart. It was wrapped in a soft, flaky crust and on the inside was peach and what looked to be like melted chocolate. It was one of her more favourite dishes, as it was something that could be served either at breakfast or dinner as a main course or as a dessert. It could also fill in her sweet tooth when she needed it.

She took a small bite and her mouth burst with flavour. Peach and chocolate were the main ingredients, but she could taste hints of vanilla, sugar and cream. She let out a small moan and licked at her lips. "My goodness, that is rather something!" She gasped.

Redleaf smiled with amusement. "Have you not had a Peach Tart before?"

She shook her head. "No, I have; it's actually one of my favourite treats. It's just that they weren't this sweet back home!" She took another bite of the tart, savouring the sweet sugary treat. "Whomever baked this is most certainly talented!"

The rest of their meal went without much words, primarily because Flora was enjoying her Tart. Her belly now full, Flora now felt more energized and ready for the day and whatever it presented to her.

"Probably one of  _the_  best tarts I've ever had." She said with a small satisfied sigh. "I'll be coming back here for more sometime."

Redleaf stood, smiling at the young woman. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He said. And, for whatever reason, he made a small note that her favourite treat was a Peach Tart.

She stood along with him and followed him out of the small cafe area. "So, I must ask, do most of the ingredients in food come from certain seasons?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Peaches are ripe during the summer season, therefore, peaches come from the Summer Glades. Vanilla beans are harvested during winter and come from the Winter Woods and cherries come from the Spring Valley."

Flora smiled. "I'm actually very interested in seeing the other seasons, if that isn't any trouble."

He looked down at her and slightly raised an eyebrow. Had she forgotten what she came to the Tree for? "I don't believe so, as long as the other Ministers are not too busy. I know for certain that Sunflower would enjoy your company in Summer."

"And Hyacinth?" She asked him. Flora already knew that Hyacinth (she couldn't remember if that was his name or not) was not too great a fan of her and he expressed that clearly the previous day.

Redleaf grimaced. "He would not mind. He does have a nervous personality and, if I can be frank, he is a worrier. He would be more apt, however, if a Spring Fairy were to show you around as he likes to assist the fairies in their work."

"I wouldn't mind that at all."

Almost as if on cue, Sunflower's jovial laugh could be heard down the series of corridors. "Perfect timing." Redleaf commented.

They walked to the main room and saw Sunflower talking with Queen Clarion. "Of course I wouldn't mind! She's such a bright young girl, I'm certain she would love it!"

Queen Clarion caught sight of Redleaf and Flora and she beckoned them forward. "It's good to see you both."

Flora was quick to bow to the queen, mainly because of instinct. Whenever someone who was royalty was in her presence (namely the Queen of London), she was taught to address them accordingly. "Your Majesty." She said.

"Such a formal young lady." Sunflower stated. "Queen Clarion and I were just talking about you, dear."

"Good things, I hope." She joked.

Sunflower laughed. "Of course, good things. Now, I was wondering if you would like to see the Summer Glades today? And no need to worry about getting in the way, dear; we have time before Summer comes."

Flora looked up at Redleaf then back to the Minister of Summer. "Actually, Redleaf and I were just talking about me and seeing the other seasons. I would actually love to see Summer!"

Sunflower beamed a bright smile. "Excellent! I know you'll enjoy it!"

As she ushered Flora out of the main room, Queen Clarion looked almost expectantly to Redleaf. "She had forgotten about the Dark Fairies. An unintentional result of a conversation, I suppose." He informed her.

"She will remember again sometime. Once again, Minister, this is not a problem. There is no need to worry."

Redleaf took a breath and nodded to his Queen. "If you'll excuse me, Your Majesty, I must get back to Autumn."


	6. Talented

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being shown around the Summer Glade, Flora ends up discovering her own talent (in a dangerous way, of course).

The Summer Glade was a lot more...  _brighter_  than what Flora had expected. Not because of the bright and cheerful colours (although they contributed a great deal to it), but because of the fairies that were working there; they all seemed to have a very bright or cheerful personality.

Or perhaps maybe it was because of Sunflower that they all seemed that way. Flora herself felt more bubbly by just being around the Minister of Summer, so maybe her personality had an effect on others' personalities as well. After all, being around a cheerful person can make you cheerful as well. And, for once, Flora didn't feel so tiny when standing beside her compared to whenever she stood beside Redleaf or even Queen clarion. Sunflower wasn't too much smaller than the other Ministers, but she at least didn't tower over her.

"So, how did you enjoy the Autumn Forest?" Sunflower asked. "I hope you're well adjusted over there."

Flora smiled at the fairy. "It truly is a lovely place! I love all of the colours and the smells are absolutely refreshing. Redleaf had also found a lovely little home for me to live in."

"That's excellent!" Sunflower beamed. "Now, how are you feeling? With you being so far away from home..."

Flora shrugged. "I should be feeling sad, but I'm just... not. I'm mildly upset, but that's about it. The only people who would really care about my disappearance would be my mother and my younger sister. Other than them, there isn't much to go back to or to miss."

"Do you not have friends there?"

"As I had said to Redleaf, 'define friends'. The only  _true_  friends I ever made are all far away from London and I barely heard from them after they left."

Sunflower frowned, a rare face for the Minister of Summer. "Oh dear..."

Flora shrugged again and smiled. "I try not to dwell on it too much. I prefer to focus on the now."

Much like Redleaf, she decided to let the subject go. "Well, what would you like to see, first? There's so many places here that I could show you! We have the Sunflower Gully, the Neverfruit Grove and the Palm Tree Cove."

Flora smiled brightly. "They all sound fascinating! I absolutely  _adore_  flowers, but I haven't seen a palm tree before. Don't coconuts come from palm trees?"

Sunflower flashed an even brighter smile. "That's right! If you'll follow me to the beach, I can show you how palm trees are grown and how the coconuts are collected!"

/ / /

Redleaf flew to the Spring Valley, intent on speaking with its Minister. Redleaf knew of the mistrust that Hyacinth harboured towards Flora and he wished to diffuse any issues that he may have with her  _before_  she went to see Spring.

He quickly asked the nearest fairy the whereabouts of Hyacinth and she pointed. "He's at the Cherryblossom Heights."

Redleaf nodded his thanks and dashed to where the fairy had directed him.

It had taken almost no time to find the Minister of Spring. Even in a forest of cherry blossom trees, Hyacinth was very easy to spot. Dressed in his spring blossoms, he was very easy to find in a crowd. He flew down to him. "Hello, Hyacinth."

Hyacinth's head shot up and he caught sight of the Minister of Autumn. "Ah, Redleaf. Although it is good to see you, I'm a bit surprised to see you here in Spring."

Redleaf ignored his comment. "I need to speak with you."

Judging from his tone, Hyacinth could tell it was something more serious than regular conversation. He dismissed himself from the two fairies picking the ripe cherries. "Carry on."

They flew until they were away from the listening ears of the other fairies. "What is it you need to speak to me about?"

"It's about Flora."

Hyacinth's wings fluttered and he quirked an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Redleaf hesitated at first, unsure of how he should continue. "As I understand things, you are somewhat... cautious around her. I can understand why, seeing how she's a human. But, she had been shown to most of the seasons in Pixie Hollow and she'll want to see the Spring Valley soon."

Hyacinth said nothing so he continued. "Once again, I understand your concerns about Flora, but I can say that she is a bright and kind woman. There is nothing that you need to be concerned about."

"How do you know for certain?"

"She has the wisdom and maturity of an elder fairy, but she looks upon Pixie Hollow with the eyes and curiosity of a young child. She has an innocence about her, and she is honest. Flora has a... troubling and painful past, so the very last thing she needs is someone here not trusting her. She needs kindness and open arms. I'm hoping you can give that to her."

Hyacinth considered what Redleaf had said. He hadn't spent any time around Flora, so he wouldn't know a thing about her, but Redleaf has and he does know things. From the sounds of it, he may know a fair amount about her. If what he was saying about her past was true (and Redleaf was not one to lie), then Flora deserved more kindness than what she had previously gotten.

Hyacinth let out a soft sigh and nodded his head. "Very well."

Redleaf smiled. "Thank you. Now, one thing you should know about Flora is that she's a very curious young woman, so expect several-"

Redleaf halted his sentence when he heard the sounds of horns blowing. That usually signaled that a hawk was around Pixie Hollow. These horns weren't sounding in the Spring Valley, but within the Summer Glade.

A feeling of dread gripped at Redleaf. "Oh, no..."

Almost instantly he was flying to the Summer Glade and Hyacinth quickly followed. "What are you doing?"

"Flora is in the Summer Glade!"

Hyacinth flew up until he was directly beside the Minister of Autumn. "Are you quite mad?! If there's a hawk then you're flying directly into danger!"

"You're almost no better in following me!" Redleaf snapped back.

The Ministers both stopped within the Summer Glade and hid as a hawk flew directly over them, screaming as it flew over them.

Redleaf dared to peek out from under their hiding spot. "What are you doing?!"

"Hawks don't scream, they screech!" Redleaf hissed. He looked up and saw someone within the grasp of one of the hawks, struggling to release herself from it.

"Flora!"

/ / /

Flora and Sunflower were both heading towards the Sunflower Gully, having seen the Palm Tree Cove (and after Flora got stuck on a tree after trying to climb it). "I'll admit, I'm not used to climbing such rough trees. They don't have any branches, either!"

Sunflower laughed her jovial laugh. "No need to worry, dear. You managed to get a lot higher than I would've ever thought! Do you climb a lot?"

She nodded. "I loved to climb this one oak tree back home. From when I was little, I would climb as far as I could and just watch the forest from that point. I really enjoyed just watching nature and seeing it work and move. I also just liked to listen to it as well, I loved hearing the birds and the river. It was always calming."

"I can see where you get your tree climbing skills, then!"

That's when Flora heard it, then. She didn't know what it was, but it was something. "Hold on a moment..."

"What is it?"

She shushed the Minister and turned her ear to the sounds, holding her breath as to not falter her hearing. She soon heard it again as it echoed through the air. Flora recognized it as a hawks' call. She then looked up to make sure it wasn't another creature.

Using her hand to shield her eyes from the beaming light of the sun, she saw a small group of hawks high up in the air, around two or three. "Oh, I didn't know you have hawks here!" She said, casually.

Sunflower's eyes widened. "Hawks?"

One of them called out again. "Yeah, hawks. That's almost fascinating. I never got to see them-"

" _HAWK_!"

Flora jumped as Sunflower shouted at the top of her lungs. "What, what's wrong?"

As the other fairies called out the same word over again, she heard horns going off and the fairies all began to run and hide. Sunflower pulled Flora along and they both hid at the base of a large tree where several other fairies took cover.

"What's wrong with hawks?"

A young fairy hissed at her, "They  _eat_  fairies!"

Flora's face fell. "Oh..."

Flora looked out to see the hawks swooping in low at any fairies that still hadn't gotten to a hiding place, snapping their beaks and stretching out their talons. She felt almost panicked at the sight before her. Pixie Hollow was a peaceful place, so hawks were the last thing she would've thought to be dangerous. But it made sense, considering they ate small rodents and sometimes bugs. Fairies nearly resembled bugs, she realized.

One of the hawks landed a small distance away from the tree she and several other fairies were hiding in and Flora saw that one fairy had gotten cornered. The fairy was a young girl, pink flowery dress and silky red hair. Flora's heart almost stopped when she saw the poor girl cowering at the base of the maple tree.

Without even thinking, Flora dashed out from the hiding spot, too quickly for anyone to even notice her or stop her. "Flora!" She heard Sunflower call out.

She ignored the Minister and ran straight for the Hawk as fast as she could. She wasn't about to let an innocent young fairy die. Taking a small stone she saw, she reeled her arm back and threw it as hard as she could at the hawk. It made a small little croak, confused as to what had just hit it.

"Hey, stupid hawk! Over here!"

The hawk turned to Flora and she waved her arm in the direction of the nearest hiding spot. "Go, it's distracted!"

The fairy dashed away and Flora looked up to see a very big and very angry hawk, which stepped closer and closer to her. She didn't look like a bug, but she was certainly small enough and looked good to eat.

She back up and swallowed hard. "I didn't think this through..."

The hawk screeched and Flora turned the other way in an attempt to escape. The hawk (having a much longer neck than what Flora expected) simply leaned down and grabbed her with its beak and, without even hesitating, flapped its wings and took her up with it. Flora let out an ear-piercing shriek, clawing at where the hawk was holding onto her.

Thankfully it had gotten her shirt and not her actual hair or skin, but the height along with the fact that she could be dropped at any second, terrified her more than anything. "Oh, lord almighty!" She gasped, her breath almost being taken away with how high they had gotten in such a short amount of time.

Another screech could be heard and Flora looked to see the second hawk flying directly towards the one that had her. It probably saw that another one had caught something and is most likely going to try and steal it. Steal  _her_.

Flora curled into a ball and braced for impact, managing to hold back the scream that threatened to escape her. She was tossed around for a brief moment before she felt herself falling.  _Then_  she did scream, her hands clawing at the air as she fell.

The third hawk had grabbed her with one of its talons, screeching out almost as if he was saying  _'ha, caught you!'_. Flora felt the wind knocked out of her as it grabbed her and she gasped for air. Once she got her air back, she tried her best to claw and pulls at the hawks talons, but with no avail. So, all she could do was wait until it either dropped her or decided to eat her.

The hawk finally landed somewhere, probably still within Pixie Hollow, but away from where the other two hawks had been fighting. The hawk released her and she tried to run, but it grabbed her with its beak and pulled her back. Flora then tried to crawl away and it pecked at her, creating a large cut on her arm, causing her to scream in agony.

Flora huddled in on herself as she held her bleeding arm, looking up at the hawk that eyed her hungrily. It then picked her up and tossed her up in the air, making her scream once more as she fell closer and closer to its gaping maw.

Something ran into her and pushed her far to the side, preventing her from falling into the hawks' mouth. "What in the name of Neverland did you think you were doing?!"

As she was set back down on the ground, Flora immediately recognized Redleaf's voice and relief swept over her. She quickly hugged him, more out of the need for self comfort, but he pushed her back and inspected her arm. "What happened?!"

She shook her head, unable to speak, in shock from nearly being eaten. Her entire body was shaking and tears streamed down her face. When did she start crying? Why was she crying? Aside from the immense pain in her arm, of course.

They both heard the hawk hiss at them, spreading out its wings in a threatening stance. Redleaf then quickly curled himself around Flora and shut his eyes tight, bracing for any impact.

"Get him!"

They both heard multiple shouts and the confused and upset sound of the hawk. Flora dared to look from under Redleaf's arm and she saw that several fairies had rallied up against the hawk, tossing berries, rocks, and other hard items at it. The hawk screeched at them all, but ended up with a rock being thrown at its eye. Shaking its head, it spread its wings and flew away from the assault, screeching out in frustration.

The fairies all gathered around she and Redleaf, all of them asking them if they were alright. Redleaf slowly uncurled himself from around Flora and picked her up, not caring for the blood that smudged onto his robe. "She hurt her arm," he informed them, "she needs to see a healer!"

They all gasped at the sight of her bloodied arm, still flowing from the wound that the hawk caused. Despite this, she pushed at his chest. "I'm fine, Redleaf, I can walk." She croaked

Redleaf ignored her and gently pushed past all of the onlooking fairies, quickly flying over to the hospital, silently hoping that she wouldn't bleed out before they got there.

/ / /

He sat patiently on one of the stools as the nurse stitched Flora's arm, who barely even flinched as the needle pierced her skin. "What were you thinking?" He finally said. "You had no business attacking that hawk!"

She shrugged. "I wasn't really thinking-"

"Sh!" The nurse tutted her.

Redleaf sighed. "You should have let a scouting-talent fairy handle it! They know how to get rid of hawks."

Flora was about to respond but the nurse shushed her again and she rolled her eyes. The nurse cleaned the dried blood from her arm with water (which a Begonia petal had been soaking in). She then took the Begonia and crushed it, making some sort of paste and spreading it on the wound. Then, using bandages made from cotton and silk, she wrapped up her arm to keep the paste from rubbing off. "There, that should keep it from getting infected." She turned off the fireflies and they flew off, resting on one of the nearby shelves. "Now, don't move it too much or you could open the stitches." She then handed Flora a small pouch. "This is a Calendula and Begonia supplement." She then handed Flora a large roll of bandages. "Every day when you wake up, you should take off the old bandages and then crush the petals and use a bit of water to make the ointment. Use the new bandages to wrap up your arm, not too tight or too loose. It should be feeling better in a week."

Redleaf stood from the mushroom stool. "Thank you."

The nurse nodded her head. "Mhm."

Flora and Redleaf slowly left the hospital and she could almost feel his eyes burning a hole into her. She snapped her head up at him, making him almost flinch. "What?!"

"I said nothing!" He retorted.

"Look, I know what I did was stupid but, in my defense, I did not know there were scouting-talent fairies."

"That is no excuse to go out and attack a  _hawk_ , Flora. You could've been eaten alive!"

She glared, a new fire lit within her. "Better me than that girl. I don't know what you would have done, but I was not about to stand idly while watching an innocent young fairy get torn apart and eaten alive by a hawk!"

Redleaf suddenly felt very small underneath her furious gaze. He sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Flora, we lose several fairies to hawks every year, even with the scouting fairies' best efforts put forward. What you did was brave, I will say that, but you were not thinking at all. If you died, that would have eaten at me until I went insane."

"Why, though?" She asked, now extremely curious.

He said too much, he realized, and he cringed. "You're new, here. I had hoped that you would be at least safe here in Pixie Hollow until we figured out how to get you back home or until you were comfortable. You are under my care until then, and if you died, then I would be hounded by guilt, knowing that I had turned my back for a few moments."

"But Sunflower was the one who was looking out for me while I was in the Glade..."

"That's worse, then. She would've felt a lot more worse than I would have simply because of that fact. You ran out when she was right there. Even now, she is probably berating herself for letting you rush out like that."

Flora turned her head, shame falling on her face. He was right. Sunflower seemed more like a mother-hen rather than a Minister. If she knew that Flora had died whilst being under her care, surely she would not be the jovial, high-spirited fairy that she knew her to be. Flora sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry, you're right. I should probably find Sunflower..."

As they passed by her home, Flora quickly dropped off the items the nurse had given her and followed Redleaf to the Pixie Dust Tree, silently hoping that Sunflower was not in the condition that he had described to her.

/ / /

Flora cleared her throat and knocked at the door leading into the chambers. She saw that Sunflower, Queen Clarion, Hyacinth and another young fairy were already there, probably waiting for her.

"Flora, come in."

She took a deep breath and slowly approached the Queen, but she was suddenly snatched and arms wrapped around her in a great big hug. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

Flora groaned and patted Sunflower's back. "Arm. Hurting..."

Sunflower quickly released Flora and inspected her arm. "My goodness, what happened?"

"Hawk tried to skin me, I suppose. I guess he liked pale skin." She attempted to joke, but felt that she failed miserably.

Surprisingly, Sunflower laughed. "You are a very pretty young woman, so it probably wanted to be pretty as well." She joked along with her.

Flora looked back at Redleaf, who looked just as surprised as she felt. They both were probably expecting a series of apologies from the Minister of Summer.

She ushered her towards where the Queen stood Flora quickly bowed to her. "Queen Clarion..."

"Sunflower told me of your bravery in the Summer Glade." Clarion told her, her face still betraying no emotion.

Flora shuffled her feet. "What I did was foolish. I didn't think, Your Majesty... I wish to apologize for putting everyone here in such a panic-"

"There is no need for apologies, Flora." Clarion interrupted her.

The young fairy, whom Flora finally recognized as the fairy that got cornered by the hawk, nodded in agreement. "If it wasn't for you, I'm sure that hawk would've gotten me." She then added, "I'm Rosetta."

Flora waved slightly. "Hello..."

Redleaf flew up beside Hyacinth, a mix of shock and confusion apparent on his face. Queen Clarion then turned her attention to him. "We were all discussing what had happened in the Summer Glade and we all thought that Flora may have found her own talent here in Pixie Hollow."

" _What_?" Both Flora and Redleaf said in unison.

"She heard hawks when the other scouting fairies didn't. If it wasn't for Flora, I'm certain more damage could have been done on the Summer Glade. She also took the initiative and protected Rosetta from the Hawk." Clarion explained. "Hyacinth and Sunflower have both agreed that scouting may be her talent, despite her being human."

"But, Queen Clarion, she had been harmed by the hawk." Redleaf said. "She cannot fly, she cannot dash away when she needs to."

Flora cleared her throat. "But I can climb and I can run. I've climbed trees since I was small and I have trained my body to endure stress for several years." She shrugged. "I don't exactly feel too fond of this idea, either, Redleaf, but I want to be able to make a contribution to Pixie Hollow. I don't want to be sitting around on my rear all day wondering what to do with myself. I want to help!"

Clarion looked expectantly at Redleaf, an eyebrow raised. He released a small sigh of resignation. "Very well. But she must rest before she starts anything. Her arm needs to heal."

Queen Clarion nodded. "Of course, as long as she needs."

Rosetta smiled at Flora and she smiled back. "I think you'll be a great scout! We just need to figure out how to get you up on one of the towers... maybe Tinkerbell could whip something up for you!"

"Tinkerbell; she's that one fairy I met a couple of days ago, I remember her!"

"That's right!" Rosetta nodded her head. "I could show you where she does her work, if you like."

Flora nodded in earnest. "Sure!"

They both left the chambers, the both of them chatting up a storm. For what felt like the umpteenth time that day, Redleaf sighed. "Your Majesty, forgive me once again, but-"

"She is a talented young woman, Minister. She will be able to hold her own." Clarion told him. "Being a scout will also keep her mind from other things."

Redleaf nodded, understanding what she had meant by 'other things'. Not just about getting home. "I suppose so."


	7. The Winter Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flora is able to see one of Pixie Hollow's more recent celebrations; The Winter Festival! A time where unity between the warm and cold seasons as well as love is celebrated! Redleaf and Flora both look forward to spending time together at the festival but, unbeknownst to them, they are key factor in a plan that four fairies have hatched. A plan that, most certainly, will change their lives for the better.

He always enjoyed watching them come back after delivering Winter. Redleaf watched as Snowflake, Lord Milori and the Winter fairies returned to Pixie Hollow, having successfully delivered Winter to the Mainland they now all deserved rest.

It had been just over a year since her arrival and she had made herself quite at home within Pixie Hollow. It had also been a year since her talent had been discovered. Despite knowing that she could very well take care of herself, Redleaf would still always worry about Flora.

Throughout the months, she and Redleaf had developed a deep friendship. Whenever Flora would have to go and scout, Redleaf would always be sure to send her a warm Peach Tart to, as he had once told her, 'make sure she was fully energized for the day.'. Whenever she was done working, she would visit him and bring cherry pie and sweet tea. Then they would often engage in conversation on just about anything that they could think of; talents, weather, new methods on getting rid of hawks (she had even suggested one time that they could be tamed, which he almost thought was madness). Once she even broached the topic on Dark Fairies. This had been a few months later and Redleaf felt a bit more comfortable around her so he answered her questions as best as he could. They had even went to the library to do some research (well, she did the research, he just engaged in conversation whenever she brought something up. Not that he minded, really). She had grown in maturity within Pixie Hollow, seeming to have asked all of the questions possible about it. Physically, Flora began to change as well. Her hair had grown a fair length, going just past her ears. Her skin had darkened slightly from being under the sun for so many hours of the day. She was visibly getting stronger as well from the running and the throwing of rocks and other items at hawks. However, she hadn't grown even an inch taller.

It felt good to have someone to talk with and confide in. He trusted her wholly, and she him. They both knew that nothing would be able to separate them.

He then watched as the Winter fairies all went their separate ways, some alone and some in pairs. There were few pairs, but they didn't go unnoticed. A fairy and a sparrow man, either with a highly developed friendship or even a new and fresh relationship. Never did they try to hide relationships from the Ministers, because they knew there was nothing wrong or nothing to hide.

Redleaf sighed as he flew back to his own home. He was always happy for any fairies that found love, yes, but whenever he saw a young couple hand in hand, it sometimes would make him sad. Somehow, he just knew that he wouldn't be able to find someone to care for in such a way. He most certainly would not be in a relationship with any of the young fairies. They were too young and he was also a Minister. He believed it could be an abuse of power. Of course, there was Snowflake but she was a Winter Fairy and she was also a young sister to him. He could not think of her in such a manner. He also knew that Hyacinth was interested in her. There was also Sunflower, but he remembered how she said one time that he was like family to her. Not that Redleaf minded at all; he thought of her as one of those overprotective older sisters.

Queen Clarion and Lord Milori had each other, of course. Redleaf remembered when the Great Freeze had swept over Pixie Hollow, and how the two rulers had, in a sense, told other fairies of their relationship. Not that there was any reason to hide it, either, for he and the other Ministers had already suspected their interest in one another. They were all there when Queen Clarion decreed that border crossing was forbidden. Somehow, they all already knew before the Great Freeze. He along with the other Ministers were all still anxiously awaiting a wedding announcement.

Perhaps he was just meant to be alone, Redleaf thought. Or maybe there  _was_  someone out there for him, but he just hadn't found her yet. He sighed again, a bit quieter. "Maybe..."

Just as he flew up along the stairs to his home, someone suddenly was hanging in front of him, nearly startling him. "Hello, Red."

He released a breath and smiled. "Hello, Flora."

She smiled back and released her grip on the rope, gracefully landing on the porch (which was made from a toadstool). "Finally finished with my shift today."

"And how did it go? I didn't hear the horns go off today." He asked her. She shrugged. "There hasn't been too much activity from the hawks lately, which is a good thing."

Redleaf nodded and opened the door to his home and invited Flora inside, as he always did whenever she came to visit him. "I brought you something."

He smiled, sitting himself at the table. "And what would that be?"

She placed the package on the oak table. "Cherry pie, with a twist." She unwrapped the various leaves and revealed what looked to be a regular cherry pie. She cut him a slice and served it on a shell plate. "Try it."

He quirked an eyebrow and pierced at the sweet treat with a fork. Upon taking a bite, his eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up. "Mm. This has... a very sweet taste, Flora. Chocolate?"

She waggled a finger. " _Dark_  chocolate. I asked one of the baking fairies to use some dark chocolate in with the cherry pie and..." she gestured to the pie. "The rest is history, I suppose."

He took another bite and Flora prepared the tea while cutting a piece of pie for herself. "Now, I do have a question, Red. I have been hearing some fairies talking about an event coming up soon. Something to do with Winter..."

Redleaf poured them some tea. "You mean the Winter Festival?"

She snapped her fingers. "That's it! Anyways, what's it all about?"

"Well, with the ability for Warm Season fairies to cross into Winter, and vice versa, it is now an event that is celebrated every other year. Of course, it takes place a week after the Winter fairies return home so they have a chance to prepare for it."

"Mhm." Flora sipped at her tea, her taste buds flooded with the sweet sugarplum flavour. "But what is it about?"

Redleaf sipped at his own tea. "Well, of course it celebrates how the two worlds, Winter and the Warm Seasons, are finally united. It also celebrates love and romance, something that the fairies added to celebrate the unity of Queen Clarion and Lord Milori."

"Sort of like Valentine's Day?"

"I take it that's a celebration of romance back on the Mainland?"

She shrugged. "I prefer calling it 'singles awareness day'; it seems like if you're single on Valentine's Day, you're the one who is payed the most attention to. 'Why don't you have a date?' and things like that. All about the most expensive dinners and gifts."

Redleaf shook his head, once again appalled at how her own world handled and did things. "That's not what the Winter Festival is about. It's about both love and unity. If you are... single, then that does not matter. Fairies will not question it, but don't be too surprised if they try to match-make you during the festival with someone."

She snorted. "They'll need all of the luck in Neverland to match-make me with someone. At least they are being light-hearted and fun about it."

"There's more to it, as well. There's ice skating, the evening dance in the Frost Forest and, of course, the fireworks."

He face immediately lifted and a wide smile spread across her lips. "Fireworks? I take it that light-talent fairies take care of that?"

"Most of it, yes. They make the pixie dust mix and then Tinker Bell had created this sort of catapult to launch the pouches. They break under the pressure and create the fireworks."

"Fascinating!"

Flora raised her hand to sip at her tea again and Redleaf's eyes strayed to the scar stretching along her arm. He frowned slightly. "I'm surprised that that hasn't healed over a bit better..."

She furrowed her brows. "Hmm?" She swallowed her tea and looked to where he was looking. "Oh, this thing." She ran her hand along the scar. "Yeah, I thought it would be at least a bit faded. But that hawk had gotten me pretty good. You should know because I got the blood all over your clothes."

"Yes, I remember, Flora." Redleaf grimaced at the memory. The hawk  _had_  cut her pretty deep. It was just a miracle that it hadn't taken her arm altogether. She shrugged. "I try not to think about it too much, though. It'll just keep me from thinking straight. Can't let fear get to me when facing a hawk."

"I suppose not."

They both quietly sipped at their tea, content with just sitting together. They had only known each other for a year, but they were so familiar with each other that it almost felt like they had known each other for centuries. They were comfortable with silence.

"So, the Winter Festival is coming within a week, you said?"

"Yes."

"That will give me enough time to make my Winter clothes, then!"

Redleaf was surprised. If she didn't have any winter clothes then that meant one thing. "You haven't visited the Winter Woods, yet?"

She shook her head. "No. I haven't really had the time, I suppose."

"Well, I'm certain that you will enjoy it!"

Suddenly a horn blared within the Autumn Woods and Flora stood at attention. "Well, looks like duty calls!" She quickly dashed out of the home and Redleaf called out, "Stay safe!"

"I will!" And with that, she was gone. Off to rescue another fairy or two.

Thanks to Flora's keen eyes and ears, she had managed to save more fairy's lives than compared to when she wasn't around. Of course, they sometimes suffered a few loses, but not as many with her. She couldn't fly so she was not able to directly interact with the hawks, but she kept a sharp eye out for any fairies that could be in distress or being attacked. She would distract the hawk, giving them time to escape, and then proceed to taunt it until another scout fairy would handle the hawk before it got to her. It was a detailed process, but it worked for all of the scouts.

What would Pixie Hollow do without her?

/ / /

_1 Week Later_

Redleaf knocked at her door softly. "Flora?"

"Up here!"

The Minister of Autumn looked up to see Flora sitting on a branch. Thinking she was stuck, he flew up to her only to find her eating a Mulberry. "Why does this seem so familiar?" He joked.

She licked at her lips. "Mm, I'm not entirely sure, but I think I was stuck on this branch about a year ago trying to get a Mulberry." She threw a small piece of the Mulberry up in the air and she opened her mouth, catching it. "Not entirely certain, but I think that's why."

He laughed and sat beside her, taking a piece of the Mulberry and eating it. "These berries are surprisingly sweet." He commented.

"Just wait for it."

He was confused but then a sudden aftertaste hit the back of his tongue, making a mix of a sweet and sour flavour. "Mm, not too bad, I suppose."

"Mhm."

He took another piece of the Mulberry. "The Winter Festival is today."

"Has it already been a week?" She asked, shocked.

"Indeed."

"Time sure flies."

He nodded in agreement. "Is your Winter set all ready?"

She flashed a proud smile. "Indeed it is! I'm rather impressed with it, if I do say so myself! Come, I'll show you!"

Suddenly, Flora jumped from the branch to the trunk of the Mulberry Tree, sliding down gracefully. He watched as she jumped a short distance from the tree to the roof of her house. "Come on, slow poke!" She called up to him.

He chuckled and flew down to her. "I see you've figured a way down the tree, as well?"

"After some trial and error, yes."

They both entered her home and Redleaf noticed she had done some redecorating. "How did you manage to get the bed down here?" He asked her.

"Hm? Oh, Nettle helped me with that! I asked him when he wasn't working if he could help me with some rearranging and he was more than happy to help."

Moving the bed down to the first floor wasn't the only thing she had done. She had some potted plants in the windows, the fireplace now had a small barred fence, the closet was moved to the far end of the home, and there were some paintings lining the walls. "I must say, you truly do have a gift with decorating." He complimented her.

"Well, back in London I had taken a small course in Interior and Exterior Decorating, just to get a feel for it. It payed off, apparently." She walked up the stairs and beckoned him with her hand. "Come, it's up here!"

He flew up the stairs behind her and saw that the entire upper floor had been made into a studio of sorts. The table had been moved up and was now littered with various tools and scraps of flower petals, leaves, cotton puffs and tools.

Flora removed a cloth from over something and stood back. "Ta-da!" She exclaimed.

The cloth fell away and revealed a beautiful Winter Dress. It was made from what looked to be like a Calla Lily, the dark purple of the Lily at the top of the dress. Cotton lined the bottom (which reached to about past her hips, he guessed) of the dress and the top of it. Wrapped at the top was what looked to be like an overcoat, made from Easter Lilies and part of a Calla Lily, which was wise seeing that the dress itself was sleeveless. Cotton lined the end of the sleeves of the overcoat and the edges. The leggings were made from cream carnation petals, cotton lining the bottom of the legs. There was a pair of white shoes at the bottom of the stand, also lined with cotton.

"I was surprised with how freely the bottom of the dress flowed when I tried it on, considering it was made from a Calla Lily. I lined the inside of the dress and leggings with cotton to help keep me warm, same with the shoes, overcoat and gloves."

"Gloves?"

She shook her head. "Right, I left them on the..." She trailed off and walked over to the table, shoving the scraps off to the side and taking a pair of white gloves off of it. Upon putting them on her hands, he saw that there were extremely light purple stripes on the gloves, which he saw were also fingerless.

"Absolutely stunning!" He exclaimed. "You were able to make this all within a week?"

"Well, I had to get some help from Rosetta and Fawn. They helped me with the flowers. The Calla Lily practically made the dress so I just had to get the size adjusted and such. The cotton wasn't too difficult, either. Lining the inside of the shoes and the dress was the hard part."

"You truly have a talent." He complimented, gently fingering the cotton lining the dress. Redleaf then looked at her. "A  _human_  talent."

Flora blushed. "Thank you..."

Their eyes didn't look away from one another's, seemingly lost within them. For whatever reason, Redleaf didn't  _want_  to look away from her. Especially when she was blushing the way she was.

The tender moment between them was suddenly broken as a loud knock came at Flora's door. She pulled the gloves off from her hands. "Oh, that must be Rosetta and Silvermist!"

She quickly went down the stairs and opened the door for the two fairies. "Hello!"

They both walked in and Rosetta noticed the Minister of Autumn. "Oh, hello!" She waved at him and he waved back.

"I take it they're helping you prepare for the Winter Festival?"

Flora smiled. "Yup! Makeup and hair!"

He flew down the stairs. "Well, I suppose I should leave you three to it, then. I myself must go and get ready. I shall meet you in the Winter Woods."

The three girls waved to him. "See you soon!" Silvermist said.

Almost as soon as the door closed Rosetta asked Flora, "So, why was the Minister of Autumn here?"

"I was showing him my dress." Flora replied, clearly missing the implications in Rosetta's question.

"Oh, okay, I see."

That time, the tone in her voice wasn't missed. "What, did I say something wrong?"

Rosetta waved her hand. "Oh, don't worry about it honey. Now, sit down, we have a lot of work to do!"

Silvermist raised the scissors and hairbrush. "I have the perfect hairstyle for you!"

Flora laughed and sat on one of the mushroom stools. "Alright then ladies. Work your magic!"

"We don't need magic to do hair or makeup though." Silvermist said, confused.

This made both Flora and Rosetta laugh, then.

/ / /

Redleaf waited patiently past the border in the Winter Woods, watching carefully for Flora to cross. One by one, fairies and sparrow men crossed over and their wings got frosted over and one by one, they found their friends or their loves and went off with them either to skate or to go off and do some other activity.

He was dressed in his more finer winter attire, seeing as this was one of Pixie Hollow's more formal events. He had a long-sleeved shirt on, with lighter Autumn coloured leaves. He had a dark brown vest over the shirt with a small, decorative boutonniere on the top left of it. The boutonniere was composed of cinnamon sticks, red berries and two orange leaved on either side. He wore a pair of dark velvet gloves along with it. His leggings were a dark brown as well, although they had some designs sewn into them, which made the design look as if it were an Autumn breeze blowing at some leaves. Dark cotton lines the edges of his clothing, making it more suitable for winter. He also wore a slim pair of dark brown shoes. He did not wear his usual Autumn hat so his long black hair flowed freely, a small ponytail at the back that kept the loose strands from falling in front of his face. Hyacinth had said it "gave him character" and made him look more sophisticated (which Redleaf  _still_  believes was a jab at him). His pointed ears were not used to being uncovered, but after standing there in the cold for so long his body soon got used to the temperature.

He saw Rosetta and Silvermist go across the border and Redleaf stood more at attention, hoping to see Flora crossing.

She was hard to spot, at first, seeing that she was dressed almost completely in white. But he managed to see the dark purple and he slowly flew over to her. "Flora!" He called out.

She spun around and smiled as her eyes fell on him. "Red!"

He paused in flight, momentarily stunned by what he saw.

The dress and leggings had fit her almost perfectly, hugging each and every one of her curves. The light reflected softly off of the white of the dress, giving her a soft but lively glow. The cotton almost seemed to sparkle as well. Her hair had been trimmed down again but it was brushed off to the side and there was some slight blonde colouring at the tips of her bangs. The girls had done well with her makeup; light purple eyeshadow over her eyelids and he could tell they had used some dark eyeliner. Her lips, which were previously a soft, pale peach, were now a soft rosy pink.

He was shaken from his daze when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You look like you were a firefly attracted to light."

Redleaf shook his head and chuckled. "I was just... stunned, I suppose, from your beauty. The dress suits you very well."

Flora blushed a deep red. "And you are very handsome, Red." She absentmindedly played with a strand of his hair. "I never knew you had long hair. You need to let it down more often."

He smiled. "I shall keep that in mind, my dear." He then held out his hand, which she took.

"So, are you my date, then?" She joked.

"For the evening, I am. Who else will show you around?"

He immediately took her to the ice rink, where she was eager to start skating on. She had told him that she skated on the pond where she lived a few times when she was a child, so she got the hang of it a lot quicker than he did.

"So, you never skated before?" She asked.

Almost as if on cue he lost his footing slightly but quickly balanced himself. "I never really had the time, I suppose. Right in this moment, however, this is quite fun!"

Flora slipped her hand into his. "I agree, it is."

He smiled down at her, briefly distracted from what he was doing. The sun was just beginning to set on Pixie Hollow, the deep orange sun casting a beautiful glow over her features. She truly was beautiful.

Once again, Redleaf suddenly lost his footing and he was not able to regain his balance. He let out a yelp as he fell onto the ice, accidentally pulling Flora down with him. He fell onto his back and she fell onto his chest and they both slid along the ice. They both then laughed at each other. "Sorry." He apologized.

Flora laughed. "No need to apologize. I would've probably done the same thing if I was the one who fell!"

They both managed to get up onto their feet (after falling a few more times) and they both seemed out of breath. "How's about we get off the ice before we trip again?"

"Good idea." Redleaf agreed.

They both skated to the edge of the ice and then sat on one of the benches, removing the skates and replacing them with their shoes. "Am I the only one whose feet feel funny after taking off skates?"

"No, I think that's a common thing. They're so used to the support, I suppose."

They both moved off to the side of the snowy mountain, keeping to themselves as they discussed the Winter Festival. It's not that they were being antisocial or anything like that. They were just not wanting to get separated if they were to get caught by someone who wanted to talk or spend time with one of them.

"So, how many years ago was this 'Great Freeze'?" She asked.

"Well, it happened about six years ago, actually. The day that the Warm Season fairies took the day off to spend time in the Winter Woods was the day that the Ministers, Queen Clarion and Lord Milori had decided to make an event based on the momentous occasion."

"Interesting. And to think that this all was because of a small machine causing a snow squall..."

"Indeed."

They both heard some giggling and they both looked up to see Rosetta and Silvermist holding two bunches of Mistletoe over their heads. They were flying too high for either of them to reach them (well, for Redleaf to reach them. She was too short).

It slowly dawned on the both of them what the two fairies were waiting for them to do. In that instant, a Snowy Owl flew overhead with a large basket. Out from the basket came a rain of snowflakes and Periwinkles. The two fairies had planned and timed this, Flora thought.

She blushed furiously and Redleaf released a nervous laugh. Despite that Flora was obviously embarrassed, he couldn't help but brush those stray bits of hair from in front of her eyes. Her grey eyes met with his hazel ones and, in that small moment, time seemed to stop.

The noise around them seemed to be drowned out and it only seemed to be the two of them there. Just them. No other fairies or sparrow men, no Rosetta or Silvermist. Just them. Flora stood onto Redleaf's feet and stood up onto the tips of her toes, her head leaning back and her eyes closing. His own eyes fluttered closed, he leaned down, slowly closing the distance between them.

Their kiss was soft, delicate, almost cautious. It was nothing short of a romantic kiss. No, it was exactly that. A romantic first kiss. Her lips were very soft, he thought. Her hands slid up to his chest and his arms wrapped around her waist, bringing them closer together.

The need for air (as well as Rosetta and Silvermists' squealing) made them part. Their eyes met, a new light sparked within each of them. Redleaf, not wishing for the moment to end, softly pressed his forehead into hers, breathing a small contented sigh. "That was..."

"Perfect..." She finished for him.

It was a brief moment after that they heard someone speak to them "I believe a congratulations may be an order."

They both quickly parted at the sound of Queen Clarion's voice and they both blushed. Lord Milori was also with her, adding to their embarrassment. "No need to worry yourselves." Milori said.

Redleaf cleared his throat and Flora tittered nervously. They then started speaking over one another.

"You see, she and I-"

"That was just-"

"It was our first-"

Queen Clarion held up a hand, stopping them both from their ramblings. "We do not disapprove, if that is what you are worried about."

"Not at all, Your Majesties." Redleaf said. "It's just that... I mean..."

"T-that was out first..." Flora stuttered.

Both Clarion and Milori smiled. "We know it was." Lord Milori said.

With that, the two rulers walked off hand in hand and it was in that moment that the realization dawned on the both of them. Silvermist and Rosetta with the mistletoe, perfectly timed with the snowflakes and periwinkles. Then Lord Milori and Queen Clarion happening upon them just after they shared their kiss. What were the chances of it being a coincidence?

"They all planned it!" They both said in unison.

/ / /

Redleaf and Flora walked back to the Autumn Forest hand-in-hand. They had stayed for the dance, although they did not partake in it. Flora said she didn't dance and Redleaf had said that he didn't know how to dance (they both knew it was just an excuse to stay together, but they didn't mind).

"I truly enjoyed this evening." Redleaf spoke up, his voice just above a whisper.

"As did I. It was... wonderful."

They both stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to her home and they turned to each other. "So... what happens now?"

"How do you mean?"

Flora placed her hands on his shoulders. "With us? Where does this lead us?"

"I do not truly know." He placed his hand softly over her hips. "If this were to develop further, then I know for a fact that love can be a long journey. But I am willing to try it, if you are as well."

She smiled a soft smile. "Yes. I would like that."

Redleaf leaned down, almost cautiously, and she leaned her head back, standing on the tips of her toes. Their lips met for the second time that evening, soft, short but sweet. He touched his nose to hers. "Small little flower." He whispered.

"I'm not as small as I look." She retorted back, although still smiling.

He took his hands off of her hips and she released his shoulders. Flora walked up the stairs to her home, looking back she said, "Goodnight, Redleaf."

"Goodnight, Flora."

She disappeared behind her door and his wings fluttered happily and a wide smile spread across his lips. He felt... amazing. Better than he had ever felt in years. This was something that Redleaf felt he had been missing for so long, someone special. Someone to care for, and not just as a Minister or a brother.

For the first time in a while, he actually felt whole.


	8. Shattered Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a horrible attack is unleashed on Pixie Hollow, Flora makes a terrifying discovery, one that could mean certain disaster.

Flora carefully scanned the skies from within her tower, using her binoculars whenever she saw (or thought she saw) any hawk-like forms. It was unnaturally quiet that morning, not that she minded, considering that there had been a small flock of hawks the previous day. Maybe it was because all of the fairies had been at the Winter Festival the previous day prior and the hawks were edgy from the lack of prey. After all, they never dared to brave the cold of Winter.

Flora sighed, remembering the Winter Festival, one of the most happiest days of her life.

Never once had Flora expected to find love or to fall in love back in London. She  _especially_  never expected to find love from a fairy, an exceptionally  _handsome_  fairy, dare she add.

Although she and Redleaf were in a relationship, they both made sure that they did not distract one another from their work. They both lacked experience in the realm of love, but they both knew for a fact that starting a relationship could sometimes cause people to become absentminded and falter in their work. Neither could afford that.

Flora suddenly heard a rustle within the bushes below and she stood at attention, watching where she had heard the sound come from. The branches rustled again and she narrowed her eyes, eyeing the bush cautiously. Although they were not quite as common as hawks, snakes were very well still an extremely dangerous creature. There had been more than one occasion in which a snake had jumped out at an unsuspecting fairy or sparrow man.

She whistled sharply at the sparrow man in the next tower and, after catching his attention, she pointed to the bush below her and he nodded. She climbed out from her tower and slid down the pole, not daring to take her eyes off of the bush.

She landed silently on the ground and the sparrow man flew beside her, standing at ready with a spear (which was actually a human-sized sewing needle). Flora grabbed one of the rocks in her satchel and bounced it in her hand, testing the weight of it. Taking a breath, she chucked the rock at the bush.

It hit something with a dull  _thud_  and she heard a small yelp. Thinking she had hurt a fellow fairy she quickly called out, "Sorry! I didn't know if it was a snake in there!"

No response came from the bush, which confused both her and the sparrow man. "Hello?" She tried again.

Once again, no response. She gestured with her head and slowly approached the bush and he followed close behind her, poised and ready to strike. Flora grabbed at the outer branches of the bush and, counting down from three on her fingers, she pulled the bush aside, waiting for a flash of green to flash by her.

Absolutely nothing came.

Both she and the sparrow man relaxed. "Head back on up to your tower; I'll holler if I see anything."

He nodded and flew back to his station, leaving Flora in deep thought. There was a small chance that it could've been one of the more mischievous fairies pulling a small prank, but if it had been then she was certain that they would've made themselves known after she hit them with the rock. Or, maybe she had hit them harder than she thought.

She pushed past the bush, intent on checking the area to make sure she didn't knock a fairy out. "I swear, if I hurt someone I will never forgive myself." She muttered.

She searched over the area almost twice but found nobody there. She sighed. "Probably a prank." She told herself.

As she went to leave the bush something hit her face, making her flinch and rub at her cheek. Backing up, she saw something hanging from a small branch, a necklace of sorts, it looked like. Flora grabbed it and pulled it off the branch, inspecting it closely.

The string itself felt like it was made from some sort of metal, and the pendant looked like a hawk talon. It was certainly sharp enough. It also appeared to have some sort of substance on it. Flora's brows furrowed and she rubbed her finger along the talon and then pinched her fingers together, watching as the dark, sparkling particles floated to the ground. She suddenly gasped, finally realizing what it was.

She then jumped as she heard the horns sounding off. Then the ones in the Summer Glade and Spring Valley sounded as well, making panic rise within her. She put the necklace in her satchel then quickly ran out from the bush and looked up to see several hawks circling above Pixie Hollow, all intent on one thing.

Eating.

She watched as several fairies scattered to find a hiding spot as hawks swooped down, snapping at them with their beaks and reaching for them with their talons.

Flora ran out into the fray, readying her sling. She couldn't do much, but she would at least try and get some of the hawks away from other fairies.

One hawk had trapped a sparrow man underneath its talons, watching as he struggled underneath it. Flora spun the sling over her head and then released it, hitting the hawk directly on its head. It growled low at her, releasing its grip on the sparrow man. "That's it, big guy!" She shouted. "Come and get me!"

It screeched at her and flapped its wings, clearly angry and ready to strike. Without even hesitating, Flora turned and booked it in the opposite direction of the hawk, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

A dark shadow fell over her but she didn't dare look up and over her shoulder. She already knew what was there, and looking at it would only make her falter. She readied another sling, swinging it as fast as she could. She then stopped, turned, and released her grip on the sling.

It hit the hawk right at the joint of its wing (an unintentional hit, on her part). She heard a crack and the hawk screeched, then plummeted to the ground, favouring its wing.

"Sorry, but not sorry, feathers." She said to it.

Other scout fairies made their way to the downed hawk, quickly tying it to the ground. "How many hawks are there?" She asked one of them.

"We don't know! We also didn't see them coming until they were almost over Pixie Hollow! Queen Clarion has called all fairies to the Pixie Dust Tree. We have to cover all of them until they get there!"

Flora nodded sharply and ran out into the open area outside of the Autumn Woods, joining several other scout fairies. Upon looking up she saw various fairies dodging and weaving as hawks tried to attack them. The other scout fairies would remain on the ground, using slings or bows or spears in the hopes that they would distract any of the hawks and draw them to the ground and keep them from getting into the air.

Flora grabbed her remaining few slings, watching carefully for opportune moments to use them.

One hawk saw she and the other fairies on the ground and it swooped down towards them, talons outstretched and ready to grab at them. One sparrow man noticed the hawk and fired an arrow at it, but by then it was too late. The hawk snatched him up and carried him off as other fairies fired their arrows and threw their spears.

Flora watched with dismay as he was carried off. No fairy dared to follow a hawk with another fairy in hand. That would mean certain death of the both of them.

The scout fairies all tried their best at warding off the hawks, but one by one their numbers began to dwindle. The other scouts were taking notice and they started to become very unsure of themselves.

Flora saw one fairy flying  _from_  the Pixie Dust Tree and she shouted, "What are you doing?!"

It was one of the fast flying fairies, she noticed. She believed her name was Vidia, last time she saw her. "Queen Clarion says to get into the Pixie Dust Tree. You've done all you can!"

Each of the scouts looked between one another, and Vidia sighed in disgust. "Or, you can get eaten alive. You guys decide."

She flew off, presumably to inform the other scouts to head to the Tree. Flora realized that what Vidia said was true. If they didn't get to cover, they all would surely get carried off. Then there would be no defense for Pixie Hollow.

Flora rolled her eyes and groaned, waving her arm in the direction of the Pixie Dust Tree. "Go! What good is Pixie Hollow without scouts? Stay low, fly fast and try not to get snatched."

"What about you?" One of the fairies asked her.

She shrugged. "I just have to run fast. Get going!"

Dropping their tools and weapons, they all made a mad dash for the Tree and Flora followed close behind them, jumping over various rocks and sticks to avoid tripping and falling.

A shadow fell over her and a screech sounded from above her. Once again, she didn't dare look up. She couldn't risk it, couldn't risk getting carried off. She liked her limbs  _attached_  to her body. She also didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time she hesitated.

The memory suddenly hit her like a giant wave and panic spread throughout her whole body. The sudden change in adrenaline made her lose her footing. Her ankle rolled and she fell into the grass, skidding ahead a few feet.

The hawk swooped just above her,, but it made a quick turn around. Flora held onto her ankle, a sharp pain emitting from the joint. The hawk screeched and Flora closed her eyes, awaiting for the cold grasp of the hawks talons around her.

A loud trill sounded above her and she heard the sound of impact. She opened one eye to see nothing but open air. She then opened both eyes. Still nothing. Releasing her ankle she sat up and looked to see a bright white owl battling the hawk, flapping its wings and scratching at it with its talons.

The hawk cowered and screeched at the owl, taking off and leaving it behind. Flora breathed a heavy sigh of relief but then winced as the pain in her ankle sharpened. "Bollocks..."

The owl approached her and she flinched away from it, almost frightened of the magnificent creature. She knew it wouldn't harm her, but she still had a slight fear of owls. "Are you alright?"

Flora released a nervous laugh. "I have never been more glad to see you  _or_  an owl!"

Lord Milori hopped off from his owl and held out his hand to her, which she gratefully took. "We all saw the hawks. How did there get to be so many?"

She hobbled on her one foot, not wanting to damage her ankle further. "We don't know. They just showed up! First they were in the Autumn Woods, then the other alarms sounded and it turned to chaos!" She then added, "I may have some idea as to where they came from though."

Milori put her arm over his shoulders. "I'll take you to the Pixie Dust Tree."

Flora looked up and around to see several other Snowy Owls fighting the hawks. She already saw some owls teaming up against one hawk, probably meaning that other hawks had already been warded off. "Is this how it used to be before the Great Freeze?" She asked.

He helped her up onto the back of Anthros, then he climbed up and pulled at the reigns. "We never had so many hawks over Pixie Hollow before." Was his response.

Flora quickly wrapped her arms around Milori as Anthros took off, her breath leaving her lungs with a  _whoosh_. "Oh, lord almighty!" She exclaimed.

"What?"

"I am  _not_  a fan of owls! You're lucky I even let myself on this one!"

" _I_  am lucky? You could have been taken by that hawk."

"Fair point!"

By the time the last of the hawks were defeated, Anthros landed on one of the innermost branches of the Pixie Dust tree. The Lord of Winter jumped off from his back and helped Flora off. Milori gave the owl a pat on the wing and he flew off onto one of the outer branches of the Tree, defending it along with the other Snowy Owls. He then put her arm around his shoulders once again.

"Do other owls have riders?" She asked him, keen on distracting herself from the pain in her ankle.

"Yes. They are animal-talent fairies. They can communicate with the owls."

"And the other fairies are in the Winter Woods?"

Milori nodded. "For their own safety, yes."

"Snowflake?"

"She is here. No doubt Queen Clarion will want the Ministers all together to... discuss what had happened."

Slowly, but surely, they made their way into the Tree. Several fairies huddled together, all in shock of both what had happened and the losses that they suffered.

"He was just grabbed! I can't believe-"

"It came out of nowhere! Nearly got a chunk out of me!"

"Where did they come from?"

"She was smothered right in front of me!"

She heard several fairies and sparrow men talking among one another, bits and pieces of their views on what happened and what they saw. Flora couldn't help but feel guilty as she heard them. She could've done more. If she'd just stayed in her tower, maybe she could've seen them coming sooner!

Lord Milori seemed to sense her guilt. "You did everything you could. There's only so much you can do in a crisis."

"I know." She said quietly.

They finally made their way into the main chambers, where Queen Clarion and the Ministers were already in a clamour.

"How could they have gotten so close?!" Hyacinth exclaimed

"None of the scouts were able to say where they came from!" Sunflower stated. "It was as if they sneaked up on us!"

Queen Clarion rubbed the bridge of her nose, clearly frustrated with how the Ministers were handling things. However, upon seeing Lord Milori carrying Flora in, the frustration was replaced with concern. "What happened?"

Flora waved her hand dismissively. "I just rolled my ankle. It's not as bad as it looks."

Queen Clarion breathed what seemed to be a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Milori."

Redleaf quickly flew over to them, helping with supporting her. "Look, I don't have a broken leg, I'm fine."

Redleaf sniffed and they helped her onto a chair, which she leaned back in and grimaced as the change in pressure caused the pain to spike. "Queen Clarion, I think I may know how the hawks were able to get so close without us spotting them."

Redleaf and Lord Milori took their places at the table and Queen Clarion became intrigued at her statement.. "And how would that be?"

"Before the attack, I had gone to investigate something in the bush. At first I thought it could've been a snake but when I threw a rock I hit someone."

She started to fish through her satchel, trying to find that trinket. "Upon investigating I found nobody there. But I did find this."

She tossed the necklace out onto the table and a chorus of gasps flooded the room. Queen Clarion, Lord Milori and the Ministers backed away from the necklace, which Flora didn't find at all surprising. "It had fresh dark dust on it. The string is made from iron and the pendant is a hawk's talon. I believe that a Dark Fairy may have gotten into Pixie Hollow."

Milori held Clarion close as he eyed the trinket closely. The Ministers all looked between on another apprehensively. Flora sighed and shifted in her seat. "When I did research on Dark Fairies, I had learned that they can control different creatures using certain pendants pertaining to a specific creature and using dark dust. The iron string makes it impossible for other fairies to use it as iron can burn them."

"They have never been this bold before!" Hyacinth said.

Snowflake replied. "They have launched attacks on us before, however. Remember the Sprinting Thistle incident?"

"That was years ago." Sunflower stated. "Why would they wait so long to spring another attack on us? And why hawks?"

"Perhaps a message is being sent." Flora suggested.

"What kind of message though, Flora?" Clarion asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know for certain, but it could mean one of two things; they were only wanting to cause chaos, or they are warning and threatening Pixie Hollow. Both seem like a likely cause."

Milori stepped closer to the table, carefully inspecting the necklace. "Were the crystals there before?"

"Crystals?" Flora asked. She grabbed the necklace and looked more closely at it and, sure enough, there were crystal beads on the metal string. One was a ruby and the other was an aquamarine crystal. Her blood ran cold at the sight of the colours and her face paled. She felt as if she were going to be sick.

"Ruby and aquamarine..." She whispered. "Red for blood and aquamarine for ice."

She looked to Lord Milori. "The Winter Woods is next on their list."


	9. Howling at the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another attack unleashed on Pixie Hollow and, as the message had stated, it takes place within the Winter Woods. Flora wasn't expecting such a large adversary though. Caught off-guard, she must use her wits and knowledge if she wants to make sure that Pixie Hollow suffers no more losses.

It had been almost a whole season since the hawk attack and all of the Ministers were on edge, especially Snowflake. The necklace had sent a very dangerous message and it had made both Lord Milori and Snowflake extremely nervous.

Flora had been home-bound (she preferred to call it grounded) for the majority of the season as her 'rolled ankle' had turned out to be a dislocated and broken one. When she had rolled on it, that is what had dislocated it. When she skidded across the ground, she must have hit something because the bone had also been cracked, judging from what the nurse had said he felt when pressing at her ankle.

Flora did not enjoy being stuck in her home for so long. She felt like she should be out scouting, although, there had been no hawk attacks for the amount of time she had been resting at home. But that still did not make her feel any better.

While she was recovering, she would sometimes get visits from fairies, mainly Rosetta, Nettle, Silvermist, Tinker Bell and sometimes even Vidia (although  _her_  visits were incredibly short). The only sparrow man who made sure to visit her every day was Redleaf. He would come and check up on her every evening, bringing her tea and sweet treats from the bakery (thanks to him, she was now almost addicted to nectar-filled cream puffs).

Flora was now sewing a new pair of shoes for herself, made from the petals of a Flax flower. It gave her something to do while she was recovering. They were exceptionally soft thanks to the cotton padding in them. It would certainly help her once she got back on her feet again. A soft knock came on her door and she smiled, already knowing who it was. "Come in."

The door opened and in came Redleaf, dressed more casually instead of being in his usual formal-wear. A padded sleeveless shirt with brown leggings and brown boots, all made from Autumn leaves. He also wasn't wearing his hat so his dark hair flowed freely. "Hello, Flora."

She smiled. "Hello, Red."

He sat at the edge of her bed and placed a small package on it. She tsked. "You have to stop bringing me these sweets, Red. I'm getting addicted to the cream puffs and I'm getting soft in the middle."

"Nonsense, my dear. You're still beautiful." He said to her, causing her to blush. "Now, I decided to bring something different for you this evening, and I'm certain you'll love it."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? And what would that be?"

He unwrapped the package, which revealed a box. Upon opening the box, there were several small chocolates inside of it and Flora licked at her lips. "Truffles?" She asked.

"Something of the like."

He took one chocolate and slowly brought it to her mouth. "I can feed myself, love."

Redleaf smiled at her. "I know."

Flora rolled her eyes but, regardless, she took a small bite from the chocolate. Flora closed her eyes and let out a soft moan. "That is  _delicious_!"

"Jam Truffles." He clarified. "I ordered them specially for you."

"You truly know the way to a woman's heart, Red." She jested.

A few hours had passed and tea had been made for the both of them, although, it ended up being forgotten about as they were now both cuddling together on her bed. Their fingers entwined, they lay on their sides facing each other. As they spoke to one another, an occasional chaste kiss would be shared.

"You always smell like fresh cinnamon and pumpkin," she murmured. "Is that a natural smell?"

"It's a perfume of sorts." He replied.

"I quite like it."

He smiled and kissed her, sighing contentedly. There was absolutely nothing that could ruin the moment that they were sharing.

There was a knock on her door. "Flora?"

Redleaf sighed. Perhaps he had spoken too soon.

Flora attempted to scooch off the bed but Redleaf halted her. "I'll get it, you should be staying off your ankle."

She sniffed. "Now you're just being a mother hen, I have a cane."

Redleaf chuckled at the comparison. "Being a mother hen is Sunflower's job. I am just taking care of my sweetheart while she's recovering."

A blush, once again, spread across her face. "Sweet talker."

He flashed her a smile but then it quickly faded as another knock, a bit more urgent one, came at her door again. "Flora."

Redleaf sighed and opened the door, surprised to see a very disheveled Hyacinth standing there. "Hyacinth, what are you-"

"It's Queen Clarion!" Hyacinth interrupted him, his voice almost cracking. "She is horribly ill! None of the healing-talent fairies can figure out what's wrong with her!"

Flora quickly darted off of the bed, wincing at the dull pain in her ankle. "What happened?!"

"None of us know! Viola had just said that she had suddenly started screaming in pain. Come, to the Pixie Dust Tree!"

Flora hobbled over, grabbing her cane on the end of her bed. "I can't exactly get there too quickly!"

"I brought a turtledove - we can fly on that." Hyacinth explained.

Redleaf quickly scooped her up and all three were out of the home in almost half a second, Flora and Hyacinth were on the turtledove and Redleaf was flying beside them.

"What sort of symptoms is she showing?" Flora asked.

"She's just in a lot of pain; her body temperature keeps rising, she breaks out into cold sweats and she seems to be almost delirious, saying things about the dark and snow. The nurses are saying it's just because of her current medical state that she's like this."

Flora was, by no means, a medical expert but she knew that whatever was happening to the Queen, it most likely wasn't from natural causes.

The turtledove stopped and hovered near the top of the tree and Redleaf helped Flora off of it. Hyacinth gave the turtledove a pat on its head and it flew to a nearby branch, patiently awaiting for its master to call on it.

Redleaf carried Flora through the open window and set her gently on the floor and she used her cane (made from the wood of a Sycamore Tree) to help her walk over to where Queen Clarion lay.

Clarion looked far worse than what Hyacinth had described. Her glow had dimmed down most severely, her skin had turned to a deathly pale, she was shaking almost uncontrollably and her breath was extremely shallow. Several nurses were trying to calm her down, but with no avail.

She also seemed to be favouring her one hand, clenching and unclenching it as if it had been injured.

"What happened?" She demanded.

The nurses all started speaking at once, causing Flora to cringe. She held up her free hand. "Please, one at a time!"

"Her temperature keeps rising and her delirium seems to be getting worse and worse." One of them explained. "We don't know what's wrong with her!"

"Have you checked her hand?"

The sparrow man looked confused. "Her hand?"

Flora rolled her eyes and hobbled over to the bed, reaching out to grab at her hand. Just as her skin came into contact with Clarion's, she flinched it away from Flora. "Yes, her hand. She's favouring it quite a fair amount."

"That's why we weren't able to check it; she would almost scream if we tried to touch it!" The other nurse said.

They all heard a trill and looked to see Anthros stopped outside the window, Lord Milori gracefully jumping through it. "Viola told me what happened. Have you figured out what's wrong with her?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out!" Flora hissed, turning her attention back to the nurses. "If she didn't want you touching her hand, there's probably something in it that is causing her pain! It's much like a child with a thorn in their foot; they don't want anyone pulling it out because they  _know_  it will hurt more!"

Forcibly, Flora pressed Clarion's wrist into the bed and pushed at a muscle that made her fingers open, a trick she had learned from her mother. She had gotten a sliver in her hand and her mother had pressed a nerve to open her hand so she could get it out.

Flora gasped at what she saw. Something had cut Queen Clarion's hand, something sharp. Judging from the inflamed and flaking skin around the wound, it had been made from iron. A dark matter oozed within the wound, gleaming and almost looking as if it were moving.

She released her grip on the Queen's arm and spread out her arms. "Everyone back off and don't touch her hand; it's dark dust!"

Immediately everyone backed off, except for Lord Milori, who only rushed to Clarion's side. "Is there a way to stop it?" He asked her, trying his best to not lose his composure.

She pointed to Hyacinth. "Go get some Pixie Dust from the Tree.  **Now**!"

Hyacinth quickly dashed out of the room and Flora turned her attention to Viola, who had been waiting patiently (although not calmly) at the far side of the room. "You; did you see anyone when you happened upon the Queen?"

The messenger fairy quickly shook her head. "No, it was dark and I saw nothing until I turned on a firelight."

"Did Queen Clarion say anything to you?" She asked her.

"No."

Flora grimaced. "Bollocks..." She muttered.

Hyacinth came back with a cup of Pixie Dust in hand. "I didn't know how much you needed-"

"That's fine!" Flora snatched the cup from him and looked to one of the nurses. "Is there a water-soaked bandage somewhere?"

A nurse quickly dipped a roll of bandages into warm water and handed it to Flora, who poured the Pixie Dust on the bandage. "Lord Milori, press onto that one point for me."

He did as instructed. Being much stronger than Flora, he did not need to apply quite as much pressure as she did when she held Queen Clarion's arm down. Flora quickly unraveled the bandage and started to wrap it around the Queen's hand, grimacing as she screamed from the pain. Milori tried his best to calm his love, speaking soft and gentle words into her ear.

As Flora wrapped the bandage around her hand, she saw the dark dust slowly flowing away from under the bandage, turning to black as it fell to the floor. Slowly, Queen Clarion had started to calm. No longer shaking, her body temperature starting to die down. Flora could still hear her mumbling something incoherent, however.

"Is she going to be alright?" Milori asked her, the worry apparent in his eyes.

"Yes. Keep the bandage on for a while and she'll be okay." Flora wiped at her brow, which had accumulated a good amount of nervous sweats. She waved at the nurse fairies and Viola. "Go. You've done all you can."

The nurses looked between one another, unsure if they were to listen to the human or not.

Milori spoke through gritted teeth. "Do as she says."

In an instant they were all out of the room, closing the door behind them. Flora sighed and then sat down on the floor, holding a hand over her heart. "I'll be the second member of my family to die from a heart attack if more of this happens..." She muttered.

"Why would someone do this?" Hyacinth demanded to nobody in particular. "Where did the dark dust even come from?!"

"Where do you think, you over-sized blossom!?" Flora snapped at him, sighing heavily and resting her head in her hands. "A Dark Fairy somehow got into Pixie Hollow. They dipped an iron dagger in dark dust and cut the Queen's hand. They tried to kill her."

"But you had said that the crystals meant that Winter Woods was next, not the Queen!" Redleaf said, now clearly frustrated.

"I know that, Red! It could have easily been a fluke. Dark Fairies do that, you know!"

"No."

Everyone immediately turned their eyes to the Queen, who now seemed to break out of her delirious state. "No... it wasn't..."

Flora quickly used her cane to help her up. "What?"

Clarion winced and flexed her delicate hand. "Distraction..."

Flora's brows furrowed, confused at the one word she uttered.

"Milori..."

She finally understood. Milori cared greatly for Clarion, of course he would rush over to the warm side if she was in distress. He was almost the protector of the Winter Woods, a defender. He could rush into a crisis and easily put an end to it before it even started. If the Dark Fairies wanted to launch an attack on the Winter Woods, they had to get rid of only one person. The ruby had meant blood would be shed, in this case, the Queen's. Then the Winter Woods would be attacked.

"You need to get back to Winter!" Flora snapped. "They did this intentionally to get you away from the Winter Woods!"

A short second later, horns blared off in the distance and howls could be heard, loud and fierce. "Wolves!" Lord Milori gasped.

In an instant he was away from the Queen's side and he whistled sharply, calling for Anthros. He hopped onto his back and quickly said, "You all stay here where you're safe! We'll handle it!"

And with that he was gone, leaving Hyacinth, Redleaf and Flora with the Queen. "I'm hoping he knows I won't listen to him." Flora said, hobbling over to the window.

Redleaf snatched at her arm. "You are in  _no condition_  to go over to the Winter Woods, especially with wolves!"

"I may not have both my legs, but I have a pair of wings." She looked over his shoulder and to Hyacinth, who only crossed his arms. "I am  _not_  going to allow you!" He sniffed.

Flora pulled her best puppy-dog eyes. "If you don't let me, and if I don't get the attention of the other scouts, then there's a chance that several fairies could die. We've lost enough already to the hawks, we don't need to lose more to wolves. We can stay safe in the air." She forced out a small tear, quivering her lip ever so slightly. "Please..." She whimpered, her voice soft and shaky.

Hyacinth's defenses faltered, even Redleaf felt a sense of guilt at Flora's sudden change in emotion. Hyacinth groaned obnoxiously. "Fine. If you get hurt, then I am not to blame!"

Flora immediately smiled. "Excellent! Now, take me to the barracks where I can get my things. Red, you go and warn the other scout fairies and tell them to get their sparrows and winter coats. Then come back to keep an eye on Queen Clarion."

Redleafs' jaw dropped as Hyacinth carried her out to his turtledove. He shook his head. "Stubborn woman." He muttered. He did as instructed, however, and flew first to the Autumn Forest as fast as his wings would let him. It was absolute madness, but if it helped then he would do everything he could.

/ / /

"You do realize that if you fall and hurt yourself, Redleaf will never forgive me. Right?"

Flora rolled her eyes at the Minister. "I won't fall. For gosh sake, this is a turtledove! They're more graceful than owls! Would you rather I tried flying  _your_  turtledove and crashing and getting eaten?"

Flora had gotten a bow and arrows from the barracks and two 'emergency' winter coats for she and Hyacinth. Her cane was now tied to her back, in case she needed it for whatever reason. "Are you sure you know how to use that thing?" He asked her.

"More or less. I watched my father whenever he did his archery practice."

"So you don't know how to use it."

She smacked his shoulder. "Just hush up and fly this thing."

The other scout fairies were close behind them, all dressed in their own winter coats to protect their wings. Nyx flew up close beside them with her sparrow. "What do you think we're going to do? We don't fight wolves, the Winter fairies do!"

"We do whatever we can!" Flora said to her. "Shoot arrows, throw rocks, anything to distract them from any fairies flying for cover! All we need to do is fly high and fly safe so they don't snatch us!"

Nyx nodded and waved her hand. "Chase, you and your group take the Frosted Forest! Russel, you take the Hills! Everyone else, spread out and help in any way you can!"

Everyone then flew off in their own ways and Nyx said to Flora, "I'll be around the Pixie Dust Root. If anything happens, tell me!"

Flora nodded and patted Hyacinth on the shoulder. "Okay, take us down but don't go so low that we get caught by a wolf."

Hyacinth sighed. "Just... try not to fall or hit anyone with those arrows."

"I won't, now get going!"

He pulled at the reigns and the turtledove flew below the clouds, giving them a clear view of the ongoing battle within the Winter Woods.

Several Winter fairies were already using their owls to distract the wolves, weaving over and under them while others did their best to upset them enough to try and get them to leave. "Those are  _huge_! Why are they so  _huge_?!"

A wolf howled, causing Flora to cover her ears and Hyacinth to cringe. "And  _loud_!" She shouted.

"You're not human-sized anymore, Flora!" Hyacinth called back to her.

A sharp trill was heard and both she and Hyacinth cringed, realizing who it was. "I thought I told you to stay at the Tree?!" He snapped.

"I guess you don't know me too well, Lord Milori! I'm stubborn!"

"And who is watching the Queen?"

"Red is! She'll be fine, I promise you! Now, tell me, about how many wolves are there?"

Lord Milori sighed in resignation. "We don't know. There's too many of them to count!"

"Did you spot the Alpha?"

Milori suddenly became confused. "'Alpha'?"

Flora groaned. "Every wolf pack has an Alpha! My father taught me this when I was young! If you lure out the Alpha, defeat it or make it retreat, the other wolves will run back home!"

He looked to Hyacinth, who only shrugged. "I am a Minister of Spring, I don't know much beyond my duties."

Flora raised her eyebrows expectantly at Milori and he hesitated. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Put the other wolves in distress!" She explained. "Hit them on the nose, hit their paws, especially their eyes! If the wolves are in enough pain then the Alpha will want to come out and help!"

"Did your father teach you this as well?" Milori asked.

"No." Flora shrugged. "I worked in a library and living out in the country can be dangerous. I did research. That's all."

Milori uneasily tugged at the reigns, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. Luring out an Alpha, from the sounds of it, could be dangerous. Although, if that meant stopping the attack, then it was the best thing they could do. The Winter Woods could easily fall to such giants and recovering could take almost centuries. That was something that couldn't be risked. Milori then gave her an acknowledging look. "I hope this works."

"Just need a bit of faith and trust, and I'm sure it will!"

He tugged at the reigns and sent Anthros into a dive, passing by other fairies and their birds as Anthros trilled at them. Probably communicating to them what was to happen.

"Hyacinth? Are you sure you can handle this?"

He tugged at the reigns. "You don't know how to fly a bird and I'm already here. No going back, I suppose."

She patted his shoulder. "Good man. Now, see that brown wolf? Fly in front of it but don't get too close!"

Hyacinth did as he was instructed, taking them down into a dive and then flying just a few feet over the ground. Once in front of the wolf, Flora did her best to fire an arrow from the bow, hitting the wolf square on the nose.

It sniffed and wiped a paw at its snout, obviously annoyed. "Well that didn't do much!" She hissed.

The wolf then flattened out its ears, growling and snarling at them with its teeth gleaming in the moonlight. "Except perhaps that..."

Flora suddenly grabbed the reigns out of Hyacinths hands and sharply pulled back, forcing the dove to fly upward. The wolf barked viciously and snapped its jaws at the dove. She could feel the wind from the jaws snapping shut. "Okay, new idea..."

Hyacinth snatched the reigns from her, bringing the dove back into a natural flying position. "If you continue to do that, we'll be grounded quicker than you think."

"Sorry! I panicked!"

He pursed his lips and his brows furrowed. "Well, you at least caught its attention but you didn't do much more than make him angry."

"That's sort of the point, Cinth. Get it angry and confused and frustrated. We just can't let it grab us. Now let's get back down there!"

She and Hyacinth continued to use different tactics against the wolves. Through trial and error, they were able to figure out a pattern that kept them safe while getting the wolves to back down.

Hyacinth had to land his turtledove on the ice by the Pixie Dust Root, as it needed to rest. Nyx, Lord Milori and several other fairies approached them on their birds, landing beside them and dismounting them. "The wolves are starting to back away!" Nyx exclaimed.

"Any sign of the Alpha?"

Lord Milori shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Shouldn't it be coming out about now?"

Flora was greatly confused. If the wolves were backing down, then that would usually mean they were going to rely on their alpha to help them. There was the rare chance they didn't have an alpha, but there should be at least a wolf that would take charge. "Are you sure it isn't hiding anywhere?"

Another ear piercing howl echoed through the night sky and the other wolves howled in response, making them all cover their ears. The chorus of wolves started to shake the ground, causing some fairies to stumble.

Then it all stopped. Silence. Pure and unbroken. It was unnerving.

Flora's ears started ringing and she rubbed at the inside of one of them. "Well, that was a sign if any. I'm surprised the ice didn't break!"

Nyx growled and shook her head. "I need sunflower seeds..." She muttered.

Snapping and cracking could be heard and all fairies attention was towards the thick of the woods. Glowing yellow eyes could be seen in the dark and a deep growl resonated from the woods. Flora's eyes widened in fear.

"Everyone back to the air!" Lord Milori shouted. Each and every one of the fairies were quick to obey, hopping onto their birds and quickly taking off. "Not you Hyacinth!"

He stopped in the middle of mounting the turtledove. "What? Why?"

"We can't risk a Minister being harmed. Flora will fly with me. You head back to the warmer seasons. Now, go!"

Hyacinth hopped onto the turtledove and took off, heading back to the border with haste. Flora looked up to the Lord of Winter. "You're a very authoritative figure, aren't you, hon?"

He said nothing, only picking her up and helping her onto Anthros. She shivered. "Why owls?" She muttered under her breath.

Milori hopped on and gently whipped at the reigns. Just as Anthros took off the wolf finally emerged from the woods, unleashing another howl up to the night sky.

It truly did look like it had spawned from a nightmare; its fur was a pure black, adorned with multiple scars. One of its ears looked to have been bitten off. Its eyes, pure yellow, almost seeming to glow in the moonlight. Its jaws were a pearly white and almost viciously long, saliva dripping from them as it snarled.

"Got anything to say, Flora?"

Her head snapped back to Nyx. "Why  _me_?!" Her voice cracked.

"You're the one who brought us out here and you seem to know about wolves more than we do." She retorted. "At least tell us what  _not_  to do!"

Flora sighed, silently wondering if she were still a sane human. "Okay, Warm fairies, since you have smaller birds you distract the wolf from the owls! Hit it in the nose, fire arrows at its ears, even in its eyes. Winter fairies, use whatever you can to harm it - weapons, owls, claw at it and try not to get caught! If it looks about ready to take a bite, take to the air!"

The wolf released another howl and Flora cringed along with the other fairies. A call to battle, a taunt, a challenge. Flora took a deep breath through her nose and then out her mouth. "Let's ride!"

All of the fairies shouted and sent their birds into a dive, putting Flora's plan into action. Milori dove along after them, Anthros letting out an ear-piercing shriek.

Anthros flew directly to the face of the wolf and stretched his talons. Unprepared, the wolf was not able to retaliate as he scratched at its eyes. Flora released a (delayed) arrow, barely grazing at its ear.  **Should've gone with the slings...**  She thought.

The plan that Flora had described to the fairies seemed to be working, but only to a degree. The one thing that they were succeeding at was making it angry. One owl and two sparrows had already been taken down, already making their numbers dwindle.

"This isn't working!" Flora shouted above the commotion. "We need to try something else!"

"Like what?" Milori brought Anthros in for another dive, pulling at the wolf's hackles. It growled and whipped around on its hind paws, slamming into the ground and causing it to shake.

"Is there a river nearby?"

"Only at the border!"

Flora grimaced, knowing full well that that was not an option. Her eyes then strayed to the large pond, which was iced over. "Is there water under that ice?" She pointed to it.

"Yes, a fair amount of it as well. Why?"

Flora reached around him and tugged at the reigns, making Anthros stop in the air. "What if we were to lure the wolf onto the ice?"

"Forgive me for saying so, but what good would that do?"

"Most wolves can't swim, especially in cold water. Like humans, it shocks their nerves and the ice would adjust itself and patch over which will keep it from breaking the surface!"

"Another thing you researched?"

"Nope. Pure guesswork. Wolves don't generally swim so I assume cold water will shock them all the same."

That did nothing to calm his nerves or  _him_  in general. "If it doesn't work?"

"It's  _got_  to work! What other choice do we have?!"

Milori sighed and leaned down, whispering something to Anthros. The owl nodded, ruffled its feathers and screeched at the owls that were still attacking the wolf. Then those owls trilled and looked up to their riders. Most likely communicating with them.

"What're they saying?" Flora asked.

Suddenly the owls changed formations, some going over the ice while others scratched and pulled at the wolf's ears and face, making more angry than ever. "Hang on."

"What?"

Suddenly Anthros dove almost straight down, making Flora yelp. She grabbed onto his soft feathers, gasping and muttering incoherent words. Anthros then turned up sharply and torpedoed directly into the wolf, making it stumble. He hovered just above it, calling out ti it. He was taunting it, Flora realized.

The wolf shook its head and snarled low at them, its ears flattened and its hackles raised Its shoulder blades poked visibly from its back, getting ready to jump.

Just as it did, Anthros flew out of the way and barely missed its jaws, which closed with an audible  _clack_. He then flew to the ice, where the wolf gave chase.

Flora dared to look back. "Uh, it's gaining on us!"

Milori looked back too and inhaled sharply. He quickly pulled back on the reigns, grunting at the sudden change in direction. By then it was too late, the wolf had gained too much ground.

Barking viciously, it jumped and snapped its jaws tight onto Anthros' tail feathers, pulling him down with it and causing the Snowy Owl to lose his balance. Lord Milori had lost his grip on the reigns and the direction in which the wolf was pulling them down caused him and Flora to fall off of Anthros' back.

The fall was not as great as one would think, but the impact onto the ice was enough to knock the wind out of anyone! Flora landed on her back and she arched upward, groaning in pain. Milori landed almost directly beside her, but on his side. The impact caused him to jar his shoulder and he released a small yelp of pain.

Flora rolled over onto her stomach, looking up too see the wolf tossing Anthros off to the side, exactly as if he were a ragdoll.

Not seeing them out on the ice, Nyx shouted, "Now!"

The fairies all started to unleash a flurry of attacks. One row fired arrows, the next threw slings, and the next fired another set of arrows. A chain reaction.

Each shot did not miss the target and said target obviously became annoyed with the stones and arrows hitting it. It turned and growled at the fairies, shaking itself to rid itself of any arrows that stuck to it.

Milori groaned and Flora crawled to him. "C'mon, hon, now's not the time for a rest."

He sat up and grabbed at his left shoulder. "Are you unharmed?" He asked.

"I didn't break my back, so I'm fine." She looked up to see the wolf slowly approaching them, solely focused on the fairies attacking him. "But we both won't be if we stay here. We need to move!"

Milori stood on the ice without conflict. Him being a Winter sparrow man, he was able to stand on ice without complications. Flora, however, was not so lucky.

She used her right foot to help herself up, but immediately regretted it as pain shot up through her leg. She growled and grabbed her ankle. "Bloody thing, why  _now_  of all times?!" She hissed.

The wolf then charged straight for the fairies, jumping onto the ice and then up at the flock of birds, which all dodged out of the way of its snapping jaws.

The ice snapped and cracked under the impact and one of the wolf's paws went through it, making it whimper and yelp. The wolf tried readjusting its footing, but only succeeded in breaking more ice. It started to whine, now realizing the extent of the danger it was in. Nyx looked down, proud at how well the plan was working. But that's when she spotted them.

"They're stuck on the ice!" She shouted.

Milori, despite his pained shoulder, had managed to help Flora onto her feet and she used her cane to help balance herself. However, the impact that the wolf caused from jumping on the ice caused them both to slip and fall.

"How do they not see us?!" He yelled.

"Don't bloody well ask me, Milori!" She snapped back at him.

"Heads up!"

Without warning, Lord Milori was snatched by a Snowy Owl and Flora followed soon after, just barely escaping the ice completely breaking from underneath them.

Flora watched as the wolf struggled to get itself out from the water, whimpering, yelping and whining as its paws tried to grab at anything solid. Soon enough, the wolf tired out and it sunk below the ice, which closed in on itself and sealed shut. "How'd that work?!" She shouted, shocked at how quickly it had frozen over.

"It does that naturally." The fairy riding the owl told her.

The owls carrying she and Milori, along with the other owls and sparrows, landed safely on the snow-covered ground, cheering loudly at their success.

Flora picked herself up from the snow and brushed herself off and Milori did the same, but he appeared to be more worried. "Where is Anthros?" He asked.

Flora was suddenly filled with dread. She suddenly broke off into a run, ignoring the pain in her leg. She had to make sure the owl was alright. There was no way he could be dead!

She and Lord Milori found the owl cowering under a tree, huddled under a pile of snow. Milori slowly approached him, speaking to him in a calm and soft manner. Flora sighed in relief and collapsed into his soft chest feathers, gently petting him. "For an owl, you're a pretty brave and tough bird."

He trilled softly at her and nudged into her, clearly enjoying the attention he was receiving. She rubbed her hands along his neck and under the harness, taking extra care in petting him.

"I think he likes you." Milori commented.

"Well, I think he may be the first owl I actually like as well."

As she rubbed under his harness, something fell from under it and into the snow. "Hm?" An eyebrow raised, Flora stopped petting Anthros and she knelt down, brushing the snow away from whatever had dropped into it.

"What is it?"

She pulled it out of the snow. "Another calling card..."

Another necklace. String made of iron and the pendant made from a wolf tooth. She rubbed the tooth between her forefinger and her thumb and watched as the particles fell from it.

"I really hate these guys..."


	10. Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the attack in the Winter Woods, Hyacinth decides to teach Flora in the art of bird riding. Of course, with this inexperienced human, hilarity is sure to ensue.

With the battle won, all fairies finally were finally able to return home. Some escaped with minor cuts and bruises, some were able to leave without a single scratch. If they didn't trap that wolf under the ice, who knows how many losses they could have suffered?

However, despite the victory, all was not well.

Redleaf fluttered back and forth, arms crossed and brow furrowed. "How could you just leave her there?"

"I didn't just  _'leave her'_ , Redleaf. Lord Milori requested I head back. She is in his care." Hyacinth was quick to defend himself, not permitting himself to be subject to the Minister of Autumn's accusations.

He sighed and continued to pace, his wings nervously fluttering together. Normally, a grown fairy or sparrow man (namely, the Ministers, Queen Clarion, Lord Milori and the Keeper) wouldn't have to fly so heavily that their wings would even be touching, not unless they were flying at a fast pace. Even then, no sound was made from their wings. However, every time Redleaf turned his wings would flitter together, further agitating Hyacinth.

"Pacing is not going to help you." Hyacinth muttered.

"It's a habit, Hyacinth." Redleaf explained. "What would you rather I do?"

"How about you sit your leaf-covered tush  _down_  and calm down. The last thing we need is you dying from worry." He snapped, now completely annoyed.

He sighed and his wings drooped. Hyacinth was right, pacing back and forth wasn't helping anyone. Fretting over Flora would not bring her back any quicker, he was supposed to be watching over the Queen, anyhow.

He glanced over to where she lay. Her glow had returned to it's normal bright hue and she was no longer pale with illness. A good sign. Regardless, he didn't dare take off the bandages. He didn't know if the wound was healed over or not and he didn't wish to check in case it wasn't.

Slowly, her eyes opened and he rushed over to her. "Your Majesty?"

She breathed deeply, awaking from her fever-induced sleep. "Mm?"

Redleaf then slowly began to recite what Flora had told him to say to Clarion. He didn't understand the necessity of it, but he trusted her. "Your Majesty, do you remember your name?"

She yawned and then stretched her limbs out, almost as if she hadn't been screaming in pain a short few hours ago. "Why the question, Minister? Why are you even here?" She asked him.

Both Redleaf and Hyacinth stared at her in disbelief. "Do you not remember anything? Before you fell asleep?" Hyacinth inquired.

Clarion looked confused. "All I remember is finishing my evening tea. Why? What's going on?"

A soft trill made all three turn their attention to the window, where Anthros was hovering outside of. Flora seemed to have been 'driving' the Snowy Owl and, as a result of her not used to having to hop down from the large bird, fell most ungracefully from his back, whereas Lord Milori jumped gracefully onto the floor. Clarion immediately shot up from her bed, seeing Milori favouring his shoulder. Redleaf dashed over to Flora and helped her up, then quickly brought her into a tight embrace. "I'm so glad you're alright!" Flora hugged him back. "I'm alright, love. Just a bit sore."

"What happened?!" Clarion demanded.

Milori quickly kissed her. "How are you feeling, love?"

Once again, the Queen was extremely confused with the behaviour of the people around her. "I'm fine, but evidently you're not. Did something happen?"

"Do you not remember anything?" Flora asked her.

"What am I to remember that you all wish to hear?"

Flora dismissed the owl and shuffled to Clarion, gently taking her hand and unraveling it. "Why was my hand wrapped in a bandage?"

The bandage fell away to reveal a perfectly unscathed hand, almost as if nothing had cut it in the first place. "You really don't remember anything?" She asked her.

Clarion was now frustrated with their vagueness. "What is it that I am to remember?" She waved to Hyacinth. "And please go and get a healing-talent fairy for Milori."

Hyacinth bowed and quickly flew out of the room, leaving the three of them alone. "Please, would someone answer me? I don't understand what you all want me to say." Clarion asked them, slowly ushering Milori to the bed to sit down.

"A Dark Fairy had gotten into the Pixie Dust Tree, Queen Clarion." Flora told her. "The Tree is fine. You, however, were not. Somehow the Dark Fairy snuck into your room and used an iron dagger, dipped in dark dust, and cut your hand. You had been in extreme pain for a lengthy amount of time. I suppose the after-effects of the dust could include some short-term memory loss..."

Clarion was completely shocked. "A Dark Fairy tried to...?"

Flora nodded grimly. "And, of course, Lord Milori had been informed of the news and came to try and help you. However, an attack was launched on the Winter Woods while he was away. The Winter and warm season fairies managed to ward the wolves off, though." She then quickly added, "An owl and two sparrows were lost, but no fairies."

Clarion breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. We already lost too many to the hawks last season."

"We would have lost more if it wasn't for Flora." Milori said, looking over to her as if to further accentuate his statement.

Redleaf looked down to her in shock and she blushed. "Well, it was really the fairies who did the work..."

"But it was you who had brought the warm fairies over to Winter." Milori stated. "And you who knew how to handle the wolves. And you who had formulated the plan to defeat the Alpha. Without you, I'm certain I would not be here."

"I-I'm certain you can hold your own..." Flora stuttered. She was not used to the amount of glorification that she was receiving now, which explained her current state of humility.

"Flora, love, you do not give yourself enough credit." Redleaf said to her, holding her closer to him. "I was not there, but from what I have heard, you were extremely brave, you did things that other fairies would not have done. You faced dangers no other fairy would dare to face. That takes more courage than anyone else here has."

"But if it wasn't for me, then-"

Redleaf, not wishing to hear her further berate herself for petty reasons, leaned down and silenced her with a kiss, not caring if Lord Milori and Queen Clarion were watching them. When they parted he placed his forehead on hers and whispered, "Learn to appreciate yourself more."

All she did was nod her head.

Clarion and Milori looked to each other, a knowing smile on each of their faces. Two young people in love; it gave them memories of when Pixie Hollow was still young, when two fairies had met and fell in love.

Redleaf turned to the two rulers. "Will you be alright here?"

Clarion nodded. "Yes, we'll be fine."

He then bowed to them. "I bid you both a good evening, then. I shall be taking Flora home."

"Rest well."

They both nodded. Then, without warning, Redleaf scooped Flora up into his arms and flew from the Pixie Dust Tree. "You should learn to warn a lady before you do that." She told him, placing a tender kiss on his cheek.

"I don't think you mind too much, my dear."

"I suppose not."

When they finally reached her home, Redleaf had gently set her down at her front door. You should get some sleep, Flora. You've been through a lot of stress..."

She rubbed at her eyes. "I don't know if I can. My body says sleep, but my mind wants to stay up. I think it may have something to do with the shocking cold of the Winter."

"Would you feel better if I were to stay here?" He asked her, his face showing full sincerity.

She rubbed at the back of her neck with her free hand. "I don't want to be a bother..."

"I do not wish for you to become sleep deprived. You need all the rest you can get."

/ / /

"Are you sure you're comfortable?"

"Well, I do normally would prefer the sparrow-sized floor."

Flora rolled over on her side and looked down at Redleaf. They had moved some furniture in the lower level in order to give him as much space as possible, which was barely enough room at all. He had been given one of the sheets on her bed and a pillow, trying to make him comfortable on the floor (all things considering). "Well, I had said you could take the bed..."

"And that is pure nonsense! You need to be as comfortable as possible!"

Flora sighed. "Very well. Good night, Red."

"Good night, Flora. Pleasant dreams."

/ / /

Flora awoke to the bright sunlight filling her home, although not blindingly. It had been created to let enough light in to wake whomever was in there, but not to blind them whenever they woke. She sat up and stretched her limbs, yawning widely. She then rubbed her eyes and leaned over.

Redleaf was, somehow, still sleeping on the floor. He slept soundly on his side with his sheet tossed off and away from him, his hair sleep-tousled. She could hear the faintest of snores as he breathed deeply.

She shook her head and slowly got out of the bed, sliding down to the floor. She then lay herself beside him, resting her head on one arm and using her free hand to play with his dark locks. Despite that it was sleep-tousled, his hair was still incredibly soft and silky. And how did he manage to make it so voluminous and yet so straight?

He breathed deep and let out a soft, tired moan. His eyes opened to see a smiling Flora resting beside him, and he couldn't help but smile back. "Such a lovely sight to wake up to."

"I'm surprised you slept in so long." She whispered, still playing with his hair. "You're normally awake fairly early, aren't you?"

Redleaf sidled closer to her and wrapped one arm around her, pressing his forehead to hers as his eyes fluttered closed. "Mhm."

She laughed. "I take it you don't want to get up, now."

"Mm, too comfortable. Tired."

"And if someone were to waltz in here and see us?" She asked him, stroking her delicate fingers through his soft tresses. "What would you say?"

"That you fell off the bed and I thought you were a pillow."

"You snuggle with your pillow?" She asked in an amused tone.

He gently shook his head. "No. Just with you."

"Well, if you don't snuggle with your pillow then I doubt fairies will see this as natural."

Redleaf opened his eyes. "Other fairies know we're courting. I doubt they'll mind us snuggling."

She smirked and gave him a small kiss on his lips. "Snuggling on the floor, your arms around me and mine around you." She kissed him again. "Kissing each other. They'll probably think we're having a... 'heated moment'."

His one hand ghosted up to her neck as he planted a long, tender kiss to her lips. "And if we were?"

"Then a poor young fairy or sparrow man would be half scared out of their wits, seeing a Minister in that sort of situation..."

"We are adults, Flora." He nudged her chin up and nuzzled into her neck, his lips ghosting just over her soft skin. "They won't gossip, if that's what you're concerned about."

The sensation of his warm breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine, good shivers. They had been courting for over a season, but they hadn't gone much farther than snuggling. Occasionally Redleaf would nuzzle into her neck, or she would be resting against his chest. This felt new, almost exciting, for Flora.

He finally kissed at her neck and he felt her shudder, her hand stopped running through his hair and was completely still. Worried, he pushed himself back to look into her eyes. "Too much?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine, it's just..." She licked at her lips, trying to find the correct words to describe what she was feeling. "Not what I'm used to. I quite enjoy it, though."

His eyes softened, some of his concern receded. "Please, know that if you ever are... uncomfortable with something, please, let me know. I don't wish to make you feel rushed."

"I will, love." She brought her lips so they were just barely contacting with his. "Now hush up and kiss me."

He was surprised of her sudden boldness, but was quick to regain his previous kittenish behaviour. "As my lady desires."

His kiss was soft and fleeting, at first, almost teasing. He then placed a full kiss to her lips, soft, and yet filled with passion, warmth and electricity. It was enough to send another small shiver down her spine. He placed a hand to the small of her back and the other to the back of her neck, then shifted more onto his back. A more comfortable position for them.

She pushed back slightly. "If someone saw us now..." She breathed, a small hint of amusement in her tone.

"Mm, indeed." Redleaf then tilted his head to the side, placing his lips on her slightly parted ones. The angle of their lips made for a deeper, more sensual kiss.

A small whimper emitted from within her throat and she shuddered from the new sensations that were now slowly crawling up through her body. Her heart beat so hard from within her chest, she swore she could almost hear it. Upon placing a hand over his chest, Flora could feel that she wasn't the only one becoming so tremendously stirred up.

He hadn't meant for this to become so passionate, so heated. Just a few kisses stolen, had turned into something far greater than what he had anticipated. The flood of emotion, the overflow of sensations, was almost too much for him to handle. And yet he continued to kiss her, passion and desire fueling his every move.

Her tongue suddenly swept along his lower lip and he inhaled sharply, unprepared for the abrupt contact. His eyes shot open to see a furiously blushing Flora, who was stunned at her own audacious action.

Her eyes turned away from his and she put a hand to her mouth, suddenly ashamed of her action. "I-I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!"

Redleaf sat up, then, brushing at her bangs in a calming manner. "No, it's alright! That was just, that is, it just surprised me is all."

Flora suddenly stood, completely ignoring her ankle altogether. "I think I should probably go for a walk."

He stood along with her. "A walk? On your ankle?"

She grabbed her cane from the end of the bed and used it to support herself, not daring to meet his eyes. "I need to go and see one of the nurses anyways for a checkup. I'll be fine. You should probably get to the Tree for your..." She waved her hand. "Dust..."

He cleared his throat and nodded, grabbing his Autumn hat from her nightstand. "Right. Of course."

They both toddled to the door, now feeling almost awkward. Flora quickly opened the door and walked out, Redleaf following close behind her. "I'll be seeing you soon, I suppose?" He called to her as she walked down the stairs.

"Mhm."

She started walking  _into_  the Autumn Forest and he cleared his throat. "Wrong way, Flora."

She spun on her heel and walked the other way. "Yup, knew that."

And with that she was off, walking with as much speed as possible to the hospital. Redleaf heaved a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Goodness..."

/ / /

That one moment just was intending to torture her, constantly playing over and over in her head. She truly didn't know why she had done it, or where the sudden courage to even try it came from. All she knew (or thought she knew) was that it was hardly appropriate, despite what she and him had been doing.

"Always manage to mess things up, you do." She muttered under her breath, shaking her head. "Stupid girl..."

She came upon the hospital quicker than she thought, although, that wasn't entirely a bad thing. She was nearly late for the appointment.

She pressed on the ladybug, making it buzz. The lady then slid the window open, leaf and pen in hand. "Yes?"

"Flora to see Marsh?"

The fairy looked up over her glasses. "Room two."

She nodded her thanks as the fairy closed the window, getting back to... whatever she did whenever not directing patients.

Despite herself, she knocked on the edge of the doorframe. Marsh, the sparrow man who had first checked her ankle, was busy with medical notes. "Come on in."

Flora cleared her throat and placed herself on the cot, her cane in her lap. "So, Flora," He looked through his notes, "It was a season or so ago that you broke your ankle?"

"Mhm."

He put the leaf on the table, flying around the cot to stand in front of her. "How does it feel, now?"

She shrugged. "I never really tried standing on it, much, because it would hurt and I would get this pins and needles sensation in my foot."

He nodded. "Mhm, have you tried removing the brace?"

She mentally slapped herself. Of course, if her ankle was in the brace all the time, of course it would get numb and sore from the tightness and lack of free movement. "Ah.. no, I'm afraid not."

"That's your problem then." He knelt down and rolled her pant leg up and started removing the brace. "It can get numb from being in a brace for so long. Your ankle joint can also keep hitting or rubbing against the stick in the brace, which can lead to making it sore."

Once removed he stood back. "Alright, try standing on it."

She slipped from the cot and nearly fell over. She grabbed the edge of the bed and pulled herself up. "That feels so weird!" She exclaimed.

"Give it a few moments."

She casually leaned against her cane. "Allow me to guess, something about blood circulation?"

"Exactly."

"I see." She tested stepping with her foot again, this time feeling it touch the ground. "Doesn't feel as sore..."

"Try walking around."

She did as he instructed, walking with her cane around the room. The more she walked, the less she limped. "Now, try without the cane."

Her head snapped to him. His face betrayed no emotion, so she guessed he was serious. Flora set her can against the wall and slowly moved around, a small limp still apparent as she walked. "It doesn't  _feel_  sore, but it almost feels bruised." She told him.

"Like I said, the bone was rubbing against the stick."

She retrieved her can and walked back to the cot. "Well, I don't see anything unusual. I'm guessing your ankle should feel better by tomorrow."

Her hopes suddenly rose. "Does that mean I can get back to scouting?"

Marsh turned to the shelves on the wall, taking something out of come jars. "Mm, well, I would suggest using a small ankle wrap to at least keep your ankle more firm." He turned to her, a roll of cloth in one hand and a pouch in the other. "You could return to work tomorrow, only if you physically feel up for it. If you feel that your ankle is still sore, don't go. You could dislocate it again."

He handed the items to her. "Take one sunflower seed each morning for the next few days. It'll help with your bones."

Flora nodded, a smile now on her face. "Yes, thank you!"

"Mhm."

Flora practically skipped out of the room, overjoyed that she could be returning to her normal work schedule. She felt incredibly cooped up in her home and getting back to scouting in the outdoors would certainly make her feel a lot better.

As long as, of course, she didn't mess up her ankle again.

/ / /

Redleaf was feeling distracted as he flew to the Pixie Dust Tree. Of course, he had  _plenty_  of reason to be distracted, but that wasn't the reason for it. It was the aftermath that was making him distracted.

He was worried that Flora was practically kicking herself in the rear for that one little action she did. She appeared so embarrassed when she left.

Redleaf was so absorbed in his thoughts that he was hardly paying attention to where he was flying. The result was him bumping into Hyacinth.

"Sorry!" He quickly apologized.

Hyacinth brushed back his hair. "No worries. You were actually the sparrow man I needed to see; do you happen to know where Flora is?"

"The hospital." Came his quick reply.

Hyacinth tilted his head to the side. "Are you quite alright? You seem a bit distracted."

Redleaf blinked rapidly, barely catching the question. "Oh, no. I suppose I'm still tired from last night."

"I see. Well, don't overwork yourself, then."

"I'll try not to."

The two Ministers then flew their separate ways. Although the previous evening's events were more than enough to leave  _any_  fairy exhausted, he still couldn't help but feel that there was something else bothering Redleaf. And it wasn't exhaustion.

He shrugged at himself. No use in thinking about it now. It wasn't his business in the first place, anyhow.

/ / /

Flora closed the door behind her. Now that her personal items were back at her house, she decided to head off to the Library. It was one of her more favourite spots to spend time in whenever she needed to think or if she needed to be alone. She also wanted to do more research on Dark Fairies. Although the necklace left on Anthros the previous evening had no crystals on the string, she still thought that it would be wise to further study their culture and their behavioural patterns.

"Excuse me, Flora?"

Flora jumped and whipped around, almost ready to hit whomever had snuck up behind her. She then sighed and rested her hands at her sides. "Are you Ministers naturally quiet, or is that just you, Cinth?"

"I didn't mean to startle you." He apologized. "I'm just curious; are you busy at all today?"

Flora shook her head. "Nothing important planned, no. Might I ask why?"

"Well, judging from the previous evening's...  _adventures_ , I could guess that you've never actually flown a bird before."

Her brows furrowed and she tilted her head to the side. "Why would I need to? A scout doesn't need to use a bird."

"Right, of course. Well, I was actually wondering if you would be willing to take some flying lessons.  _Bird_  flying lessons. Spring has already been delivered to the Mainland, so I would have plenty of time to teach you."

 **Flying a bird?**  Flora thought. She wasn't certain she would be the best when it came to bird-riding, in fact, she  _knew_  she wouldn't be the best. When she had flown Anthros to the warm side was a prime example; she took off too fast, turned too sharply (nearly throwing both she and Milori off of the owl) and she actually fell off of his back when attempting to dismount him. But then she also considered that, due to her lack of flying abilities, having a bird would be far easier for her to get around to places instead of walking.

Flora shrugged. "I suppose. I mean, I think it would be fun to learn and rather convenient as well."

Hyacinth smiled. "Excellent! Now, there's a bird already picked out for you. She's a calm bird, so no need to worry about being tossed off."

He gently ushered her to the Spring Valley, already beginning to explain the various techniques and commands that are used when riding birds. Mentally, Flora cringed, already beginning to wonder if she was still sane in accepting bird flying lessons.

/ / /

"So, do I call her by her name, or does she not respond to that?"

"I'm afraid she doesn't have a name." Hyacinth responded. "She hasn't had a permanent rider, yet, so she hasn't been named."

Flora heard a sharp call and looked to see Hyacinth's dove as well as another large bird sitting calmly on the ground. The other bird was an almost stunning shade of blue, spreading all along her body. Her tail and wings were composed of blue, white and black stripes and her belly and breast were a pure white. A black stripe ran from the bottom of her neck to just behind her eyes. Upon seeing Flora and Hyacinth, her head suddenly frilled up into a straight crest and she squawked excitedly.

"A Blue Jay?" Flora asked. "Aren't they generally a boisterous and, if I may say so, rowdy bird?"

Hyacinth approached the Blue Jay, calmly stroking her neck. She leaned into his touch, trilling happily. "They are bold, yes, but only if provoked. This one, however, is one of the most sweetest Blue Jays I have ever seen. She rarely snaps at anyone, which is surprising, although not unwelcome."

Flora, feeling almost frightened of the big bird, slowly approached her. "She is a beautiful bird."

Her head suddenly snapped to Flora, making her jump back in surprise. She then made one hop forward and leaned her head down, turning it off to the side and chirping.

Flora held her hands close to her chest. "What do I do?"

Hyacinth almost laughed at her uncertainty. "She wants you to pet her, Flora. She's telling you she's friendly."

Flora tittered and looked back to the Blue Jay, who still had her head turned to the side. She then reached out with one hand and stroked at her neck feathers. "Oh, I never knew their feathers were so soft!"

Flora then scratched and the Blue Jays' feathers ruffled and she squawked happily, her crest standing back at attention. Flora brushed at the crest and the bird immediately leaned into her, almost knocking her over. "You know, they're actually kind of cute when they're not screeching at you all the time." She said to Hyacinth, who was smiling as he watched the two bond.

"Is that what they did back on the Mainland?"

"They do tend to screech whenever another bird is taking their food." She replied.

Hyacinth flew beside Flora, patting the Blue Jay on her neck. "Ready to fly?"

She warbled and ruffled her feathers, almost looking as if she were smiling. "I take it that means yes in bird-language?" Flora joked.

"It does. Now, the first thing you must do before mounting is letting your bird know you're wanting to get onto it."

"How do I do that?"

Hyacinth demonstrated with his own turtledove by putting is hand on the upper part of his neck. "Just put a hand here."

Immediately the turtledove leaned his head down, granting enough room to hop onto him.

Flora nodded. "Alright, simple enough."

She copied Hyacinth's movements and the Jay did the same thing, leaning her head down to let Flora up. "How do I get up, now?"

"Use the harness. But don't use your foot on her neck to help you up; that would often make a bird feel uncomfortable." He explained, then demonstrating for her (although, it was almost difficult to see his leg movements thanks to his attire).

 **Harness?**  Flora looked to see a basic harness, made from a single vine, around the Jay's neck. "Oh."

She grabbed the harness and tried pulling herself up, lifting her one leg over the Jay's neck. She had managed to get herself up, but then she immediately slid off onto the other side of the Jay, landing with a loud  _thud_. The Jay chirped, looking over to Flora.

Hyacinth stifled a laugh. "Try not to swing yourself so hard."

"Now he tells me..." Flora muttered under her breath. She quickly picked herself up and dusted herself off, walking back around the bird. "Let's try that again!"

She was quick to correct herself, swinging just her leg over rather than her whole body. She managed to get herself seated but when the Jay lifted her head up, Flora was completely unprepared for the upward motion. She let out a sharp yelp as she rolled forward and fell onto her back. The Jay trilled and looked straight down at her, to which she received a small pat on her beak. "I'm fine."

Hyacinth only watched with a passive face as she rolled over and picked herself up. "Third time's a charm!" She told him.

She finally succeeded in mounting the Jay, without falling forward this time. She grabbed the harness, careful as to not pull it in any direction. "That was harder than what it needed to be." She said.

Hyacinth quickly reassured her. "I wasn't always this good at bird-riding either. Took me a few tries to get it right."

The Jay chirped happily up at Flora, and she stroked at her crest again. "Pretty bird." She told her.

She smiled and trilled at the attention.

"Now, how does one take off?" She asked Hyacinth.

"Just a steady flick of the reins should do it." He told her. "Now, its different for each bird as to how hard you should flick the reins, a Blue Jay would generally need a soft one to take off. As for her, however, I'm not too certain."

Flora looked down at the Jay, who looked back up at her. "Ready to go, girl?"

The bird chirped happily. Flora took a deep breath and gripped tightly at the reins. Then, releasing her breath, she said, "Let's ride!"

She flicked the reins.

The Jay took off almost too fast for Flora, who shrieked at the sudden takeoff. Hyacinth rubbed the bridge of his nose and laughed, to which his turtledove smacked him with his wing.

Hyacinth huffed. "I know, I know." He flicked at the reins and they took off gracefully, chasing after Flora and her Blue Jay.

Flora had somehow managed to make the Jay stop in flight, which almost surprised Hyacinth, but then he remembered how she had stopped his turtledove in the Winter Woods. He stopped directly beside her. "I suppose she's just a little excited."

Flora laughed breathlessly. "You don't say!" She used one hand to brush at her tousled hair. "That took my breath away..."

The Jay warbled apologetically and she immediately stroked her neck. "Not to worry, we're both just getting to know each other." She told her.

"Since we're in the air," Hyacinth stated, "I think it's best that we get started on your turns and dives."

Her head shot up and then to Hyacinth. "' _Dive_ '?!"

He seemed to not notice her apparent worry. "You never know when you may need to put your bird into a nose dive, Flora."

She heaved a sigh and leaned down onto the Jay's head. "Can we maybe just get used to turning first?"

"As long as you need. No need to rush."

Flora nodded her thanks and tightened her grip on the reins once again. She flicked her wrists (a bit softer this time) and the Jay started to fly and Hyacinth followed close beside them.

"When you wish to turn, you give a  _gentle_  pull on the reins in the direction you wish to go."

"Genlte... Gentle..." She recited to herself. When she felt like she was ready, she pulled the reins to the left.

The Jay turned into the left, a little jerky but not too bad, and they went for a full circle before Flora set them back onto a straight path. "Ha! Not so bad, if I do say so myself!"

"No, not bad at all. A little sharp on the first part but you eased up gradually, which is good." Hyacinth praised her. "Now, let's try to the right."

/ / /

For several hours Flora practiced her turns on the Jay, each time became more and more sure and less sharp or bumpy. The Blue Jay was getting more used to Flora, and Flora was getting more used to her. Much like the way a horse gets used to their rider and a rider gets used to their horse. They bond as they train.

Flora stopped the Jay and smiled. "I think I got it!"

"Well done." He smiled back to her. "You're a very fast learner!"

"Thank you."

"Now, shall we move into the nose dives?"

Flora's smile disappeared quickly and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "May as well get it done and over with, I suppose." She replied with a shrug.

"Trust me, it isn't as bad as it seems." He reassured her. "All you really need to do is hang on."

"What else would I do?" She raised her hands up in the air, as if she were on a roller coaster. "Do this?"

"Not unless you wish to fall off."

Flora grabbed at the reins again and gripped them tightly. "So, how does one bring their bird into a nose dive then?"

Hyacinth leaned down onto his turtledove. "You don't wish to catch any air whilst diving, lest you get pulled off. You lean down and, when ready, you gently push onto their neck to tell them where you want to go."

Flora copied his movements, although not pushing down. "Do I need to bring the bird up to speed?"

He shook his head. "They gain enough when diving. Remember as well, the amount of pressure and the speed you apply onto their neck measures the angle of their dive. When you want to bring them back up, you  _never_  sit yourself up! You only pull on the reins."

Flora nodded and rolled her shoulders. "Alright, got it." She then whispered to the Jay. "Ready, girl?"

The Jay nodded in response. Flora wrapped the reins around her hands, her knuckles almost turning white from the pressure. Slowly, she applied pressure to the neck, just as Hyacinth instructed.

The Jay went down for a low swoop and, as Flora applied more pressure, went into a sharper and sharper dive. The sensation of the wind on her face gave her a rush of adrenaline, a little bit of a buzz in the back of her mind. It was exciting.

Flora then pulled up on the reins, making the Jay spread her wings out and glide in the air. Flora laughed jovially, overjoyed at how smoothly it had gone. Truth be told she was half expecting for her to face plant into the ground. The Blue Jay squawked along with her, her crest spiking upward in excitement.

Flora looked around for Hyacinth, who seemed to be nowhere in sight. "Cinth?" She called out.

Suddenly the turtledove flew up alongside her Blue Jay, nearly startling her. "Where did you go?" She asked.

"Where did  _you_  go?" He retaliated. "You caught me off guard, going so fast. I'm rather impressed!"

She flashed a toothy grin. "Or perhaps you're just going too slow."

Hyacinth sat a little straighter. "Is that a challenge, Flora?"

"It could be." She replied. "Last one back to Spring Valley is a stick in the mud!"

She suddenly took off and Hyacinth shook his head, a smile on his face. He then flicked at the reins and took after Flora.

/ / /

Where could they be? They couldn't be training for this long.

Redleaf was, once again, pacing back and forth. For the whole of the day, he had been bothered by what had happened between he and Flora. He was worried, although he didn't really understand why. Regardless, he wished to speak with her.

Upon asking an animal fairy, he was stunned to learn that Flora was taking flying lessons from Hyacinth. He never would've thought that she would be apt to learning how to fly on a bird.

His head shot up as he heard the call of a bird in the air. He scanned the skies and saw two birds, a turtledove and a Blue Jay, flying towards the clearing in Spring Valley. He knew that the turtledove was Hyacinth's, but the Blue Jay? It couldn't be Flora riding it; they were far too bold a bird for her.

The two birds landed on the ground and, sure enough, Flora was the one who had been riding the Blue Jay. "Ha! Beat you!"

Hyacinth laughed. "I never knew you were a competitive type, Flora." He dismounted his turtledove, softly stroking his neck.

"Flora?"

She looked and saw Redleaf, looking as confused as a lost puppy. Immediately a blush overtook her features, suddenly remembering what had transpired earlier that day. "Oh, hello..."

She attempted to dismount the Jay, but her leg ended up getting caught in the harness and she fell (once again, most ungracefully) off of the Jay. She warbled and looked down at Flora. "I still need to try and learn that..." She told her.

She picked herself up and brushed the Jay's crest. "I think we did well today, girl." She said, receiving a squawk of agreement.

Redleaf approached them, trying to remain as composed as possible. "I take it the lessons went well?"

She dared not to meet his eyes, lest she turn into a stuttering fool. "Yes. We learned a fair bit today."

Hyacinth looked between the two, confused at their behavoiur. Between Redleaf's distant behaviour that morning and their attitude towards each other now, he guessed that something had happened between them. He couldn't place his finger on what, though.

"Is she your bird?" He asked Flora.

The Jay immediately nuzzled against Flora, almost as if saying that she was her bird. Flora laughed and gently pushed at her head. "Well, she doesn't have a rider, so," she looked to Hyacinth. "Unless there's someone wanting to claim her?"

He shook his head, taking the harness off of his turtledove. "No. As I said, we were never able to find her a permanent rider. So if you want her, then she's all yours."

Flora smiled along with the Blue Jay, who hopped and chirped happily at the announcement. "Perfect!"

Hyacinth approached the three of them. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I must go and check on things before the end of the day." He bowed slightly and then flew off into Spring Square, leaving them alone.

Flora attempted to avoid any form of contact with Redleaf, physical contact or eye contact. He noticed it almost immediately. "I wish to speak with you about what happened this morning." He said.

Again, Flora blushed crimson, although she didn't say anything and continued to stroke the Jay's feathers.

He cleared his throat. "All I wish to say is that there was nothing... wrong about it. Not in the slightest."

"We've been courting for just over three months, Redleaf." She said quietly. "I feel as if I went too fast..."

"Not at all." He tried to reassure her. "Flora, we are both adults. And, do forgive me for saying so, but you're making it seem like we're simple school-fairies."

The Blue Jay stilled, listening intently on their conversation. Why was the wingless fairy so embarrassed? What was the other fairy even talking about? Fairies could be so confusing, sometimes.

Flora sighed and stopped stroking at the Jay's feathers. Finally, she looked up to meet his eyes. "I don't know, it's just..." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I suppose it's just my lack of experience with romance; I'm not used to being so intimate with anyone. At all."

"I'm just as inexperienced as you are, Flora." He told her. "I'm not used to it either. But I do know for certain that what happened is natural." He then wrapped an arm around her waist. "And I quite liked it."

Flora's embarrassment, her worries and concerns, all slipped away within that one moment. Standing on the tips of her toes, she leaned her head back, her eyes fluttered closed as her hands rested against his chest. He leaned down, tilting his head to the side. Their lips met softly.

A sudden hacking noise was heard and Flora pushed back and looked down to see the Blue Jay acting as if she were sick, hacking and heaving, her chest feathers moving along with the sounds of her 'sickness'. Flora  _tsked_. "Excuse you?!" She laughed.

The Jay stopped her heaving and looked up to Flora, playfully chirping. Redleaf laughed along with her. "Well excuse you, little missy, but if you're going to be my bird you'll have to get used to this!"

She ruffled her feathers sharply in a shivering motion, a joking expression of revulsion.

"Well then, Missy, you're not getting any crest-brushing tonight." Flora joked. Immediately, the Jay stopped her behaviour and nuzzled against Flora.

"Is that what you're naming her?" Redleaf asked.

Flora nodded. "I think Missy might be a suitable name for her."

Missy warbled in response, further nuzzling into Flora's legs.


	11. Dark Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an incident at the beach, Redleaf, Flora, Clarion and Milori are all face-to-face with the one creature that could be the cause of the attacks on Pixie Hollow.

Flora and Redleaf both walked peacefully along the beach, the sun just beginning to set over the horizon. Missy hopped close behind them, picking up any shells Flora may have missed (mainly the ones she liked, which were normally intricately patterned or bright and colourful).

Flora had been looking for seashells to decorate Missy's harness, seeing as a single vine could be dull. She already found two scallops and four conches. She even found a few smaller shells (cat's paw, keyhole, cantharus). There was just one shell that she wanted to use for the center of the harness that just wasn't turning up.

Missy suddenly nudged Flora, causing both she and Redleaf to stop and turn around. She chirped and leaned her head down, almost like a playful puppy would with their master. "How many more of these do you need?" He asked the bird.

Flora took the shell from Missy's beak and put it into the leaf pack that hung on the bird's side. "As many as she likes. And as long as we're walking, she'll keep picking up shells."

"What will you do with all of them?"

"Make a bunch of harnesses, I suppose. One for each season would be pretty nice." She joked, walking up beside him.

"Making one for Spring would be interesting."

"I saw some pink shells in the pack, don't you worry."

Suddenly the water along the shore flowed up far enough to reach past Missy's feet. The bird squawked and hopped away from the water, shaking the sand from her feet. Flora laughed. "What, afraid of a small bit of water, Missy?"

The Jay huffed and ruffled her feathers, slipping the pack off from her back and walking directly into the water as if saying,  _'I can do it!'_. She then looked expectantly to both Flora and Redleaf, slapping the water with her wings.

Flora shook her head and backed away from the shoreline. "Oh no, don't even think about it! I'm in my better clothes, thank you."

Missy slapped the water again, this time sprinkling them with it. Redleaf backed away and shook his hands, then wiped them off on his robe. "I think she's wanting you to go in with her."

"I realize that, but I'm not about to go in the water without the proper attire, Red."

Missy suddenly squawked and a wave of water hit Flora and splashed Redleaf. Slowly, she turned her head to Missy, who was standing almost casually and chirping to herself. Flora huffed. "So that's how it's going to be, eh?"

Missy chirped and ruffled her feathers along her shoulders.  _'I didn't do anything.'_

Flora quickly slipped out of her shoes and ran into the water, splashing at Missy and laughing cheerfully as the bird shook the water off of herself.

Redleaf watched as the two splashed water at each other, being careful as to not get too close to the shoreline. Contrary to popular belief (and this went for every other fairy in Pixie Hollow), he knew how to swim and he also wasn't afraid of the water. He just didn't want to get his formal clothes all wet.

"Come on in, Red!" Flora called, blocking a large wave of water from Missy. "The water feels so nice on the feet!"

Redleaf fluttered his wings, almost tempted to hop in with them. "I'd rather not, Flora. Quite frankly, I think that all that would happen is that I-"

He was sharply interrupted by a stream of water hitting his face, completely soaking the torso of his robe. He wiped at his eyes and spat out the water that managed to slip into his mouth.

Flora's head shot over to see a laughing Missy, rolling in the water while chirping. The Jay had spat a stream of water at him!

Redleaf immediately took off his Autumn crown (as Flora had dubbed it) and placed it in the sand, his dark tresses falling down past his shoulders. "Very well, you asked for it!"

He flew into the water and delivered a large splash to Missy, who rolled back onto her feet and shook her feathers out. She let out a squawk and used both her wings to scoop a large load of water. Immediately, Flora stood behind Redleaf and held him there. "You're my shield!"

"What for?! You're already wet!"

Missy flung the water at Redleaf, completely drenching both he and Flora. She immediately let go of him, exclaiming as the water dripped from her form. Redleaf shook his head and brushed his hair back, laughing at them both. "So much for your 'shield'!"

"Hush up, you!" She tutted.

Redleaf then called upon the wind, using it to throw a surge of water at Missy. The smile on her beak immediately disappeared and she attempted to dash away, but she was caught under the water.

Flora stared at her now water-drenched bird as she shook her feathers out, pecking at the sand under them. She then looked up to Redleaf. "Since when could you do that?!"

"I wasn't always a Minister, Flora. None of us were. We used to be regular talent fairies, once."

"Fast-flying fairy?"

Before he could respond, there was a sharp screech and he was suddenly pushed into the deeper parts of the water. He emerged and gasped, wiping his hair back once again. Missy floated on the waves, feeling that payback had been delivered justly.

Flora swam out to them and jumped onto Missy, attempting to dunk her under the water. Missy only looked back, confused as to what Flora was doing. She then tittered. "You float very well..."

Missy rolled, taking Flora under the water with her. She gracefully spun back up and continued to float on the surface, whereas Flora just sprung straight up from under the water, using one hand to wipe at her eyes and the other to wade in the water. "Oh, you are  _so_  getting it, little Missy!"

She and Redleaf continued to team against Missy, who only seemed entertained by their attempts to get her under the water. Of course, he would occasionally use the wind to help with making waves, but he didn't use it quite as much as he could have (he thought it unfair and less fun).

Redleaf suddenly hung onto Missy's back, almost out of breath from all the exercise and how hard he had been laughing. "I think I'm done."

Flora deeply exhaled, wading calmly over the water. "Same here, Red. It's almost dark anyhow."

Flora then grabbed onto Missy's back alongside Redleaf, giving her a small pat. "Let's go back to the beach."

Missy warbled and started to use her wings to swim back to the shore, careful as to not bump the couple. As much as she didn't like it when the wingless fairy and leaf fairy got all lovey-dovey, she did like it when they both played with her.

As they hit the shore, they released their grip on Missy and stood, shaking the water off of them as best as they could. Missy, in a final blow, shook herself like a dog, spraying them with water. She then ruffled them, as if saying,  _'I always get the last laugh.'_.

Flora shook her arms. "Yes, Missy, we get it."

The Jay nodded sharply and then proceeded to pick her feathers clean from sand and dirt.

Redleaf proceeded to wring his hair out, twisting and then squeezing. His hair was thick, add that with length and it could be difficult to dry out. "I shall admit, that was fun."

Flora raised an eyebrow. "See? And you had said that you'd rather not go into the water. Don't like it until you try it!"

He smiled, then, pushing his hair back over his ears. "I shall keep that in mind, my dear."

Missy suddenly let out a sharp cheep, her head pointed into the direction of the forest that went along the beach. "What's the matter, girl?" Flora asked the Jay, walking over to rub her neck. "You see something?"

Missy's crest suddenly spiked up and she bowed down low, a low trill sounding deep within her throat. Flora recognized it as her way of a growl. Missy's feathers then fluffed out, making her look almost twice her size. Flora attempted to calm her bird down. "It's alright, Missy, probably just a mouse or something."

Redleaf grasped her shoulders. "Mice wouldn't be wandering out at this hour, love." He informed her. "I think she might be seeing something else."

The leaves rustled and Missy jumped, spreading out her wings and further fluffing her feathers. She let out a small squawk, a warning to whatever was in the thicket.

Flora, seeing that something was evidently wrong, grabbed a spear from its holster on the harness, tightening her fingers along the shaft. "Red, I know you're a man, but I still need you to get behind me." She whispered.

"Whatever for?" He hissed.

"In case something decides to eat us, I'm first." She pushed at his chest. "Now, get back!"

He was about to defy her wish, but upon seeing the look in her eyes, he backed up behind her, but remaining ready to grab her if something  _did_  jump out.

The rustling started to become louder and Flora slowly approached the thicket, readying her spear. Missy followed close beside her, ready to defend her rider.

Flora grabbed the nearest leaf and looked to her bird, who didn't dare look away from the thicket. She took a quiet breath, reared her spear and pulled the leaf back.

There was nothing there that she could see. Just more leaves and bits of bush. Although it was getting dark, Flora still was able to see well enough to know that nothing was there. She shrugged and looked down to Missy, who still was worked up at whatever she was seeing or hearing. "I don't think there's anything there, Missy."

Missy huffed, resting her wings but keeping her crest raised.

Redleaf breathed a sigh of relief as they both turned away from the bush. "I don't know what she saw, but it bugged her." She said to him.

Almost as soon as Flora started walking away, something grabbed at her arm and pulled her back, making her cry out in shock. Missy shrieked as her rider was pulled into the bush, chasing after her. Redleaf immediately ran to the bush, his wet wings preventing him from flying.

"RED!"

Her cry spurred him onward and into the bush. He spun around, trying to look for any sign of Flora or Missy.

He saw Flora picking herself up from the ground, grabbing at her head as if she had struck it against something. "Flora! What happened?" He demanded, holding her against him.

"Missy..." She muttered.

A sharp squall sounded and Redleaf looked up to see Missy struggling with something.  _Someone_. Missy's opponent had a blade in hand, deftly dodging Missy's attacks and countering them with their own attacks.

Redleaf's blood ran cold at the sight of the opponent's wings. They weren't fairy wings. Not natural ones, anyways. They were much larger and they didn't glow, they were solid in colour and apparent in shape. Sharp, horn-like bone could be seen protruding from the top of its wings.

He immediately carried Flora off to the side, out from underneath the overhead battle. He then set her down. "Stay low, stay quiet."

"What?"

He searched the ground for her spear, brushing any loose leaves to the side. Redleaf found it embedded into the ground. Flora had already tried throwing it, at one point.

He hadn't used one of those in decades, so it took him a moment to find the balancing point. He then looked up, carefully aiming at the fairy fighting against Missy. It was a risky shot, but he would apologize later.

He then threw it, using the wind to propel it upward.

The spear embedded itself within the fairy's wing and it let out an almost inhuman shout, then it dropped to the floor, groaning in pain. Missy quickly followed the fairy down, stepping onto its chest to keep it down. Missy trilled low, her crest fully fanned out and she pecked at the fairy, knocking it unconscious.

Both Flora and Redleaf approached Missy and Flora immediately stroked at her crest, trying to calm her down. "Easy, girl, it's down."

Slowly the bird relaxed and she removed her foot from atop the fairy, huffing at it. "Where did you learn to throw a spear like that, Red?" She asked. "You said you were a fast-flying fairy, not a scout."

"Observing does wonders, my dear." Was his only response.

Flora sighed and knelt down, staring intensely at the unconscious fairy. "Bloody little bugger, how did it get so deep into Pixie Hollow without anyone seeing it?"

Redleaf pulled the spear from its wing. "I don't know, nor do I care. However, we should  _discretely_  bring it to Queen Clarion. She needs to know just how close they're getting."

/ / /

They waited for Queen Clarion in the lower parts of the Pixie Dust Tree, patiently waiting for her to arrive. "Did you tell Viola that it was important?" She asked.

"Of course I did, and with some urgency, mind you."

Missy chirped and smacked the fairy with her wing, once again knocking him unconscious. "Missy, if you keep doing that you're going to send it into a coma. Don't do it again."

She chirped again and ruffled her shoulder feathers.

"Flora, Redleaf, what is going on?" Queen Clarion demanded, flying swiftly down the stairs with Lord Milori in tow.

Flora stepped ahead, quickly blocking the two rulers from going any further. "Now, before you see this, you need to remain calm."

"Flora..." Milori spoke with a stern voice. Flora flinched and stood back. "We found him out on the beach. Tried to snatch me. Missy was able to stop him, though."

Clarion gasped and Milori inhaled sharply, holding her close to him.

Flora's assailant had been a Dark Fairy. His clothes were composed with a mix of dead leaves and flowers, which appeared tattered thanks to Missy. His wings were almost massive for a fairy. Dark velvet feathers spanned along the entire size of his wings, some of the feathers looked to be torn off and revealed a mix of skin and bone underneath. At the tops of the wings, where they would curve, sharpened bones protruded from them.

Milori looked almost as if he were ready to hit someone. "Have you lost your mind? Bringing a Dark Fairy here?!"

"Would you rather I left him flying amuck in Pixie Hollow? Scooping up anyone else that he wished to? He's big enough to carry  _you_  off, if he wanted!"

Milori's lips pursed and his face remained stern.

"He isn't wearing a necklace, so I can only assume that he wasn't here to send another message."

Redleaf looked incredulous. "He tried to take you, of course he wasn't here to send a message!"

"He didn't threaten me at all, however," Flora clarified. "He  _had_  said something about a warning before Missy flew in and scared him speechless."

Missy squawked.

Clarion could hardly believe what she was hearing. If a Dark Fairy had gotten so deep into Pixie Hollow, without being seen or heard by anyone, who knew how many more were hiding within their borders? "First things first, we have to ask ourselves why he tried taking  _you_." She stated, remaining as calm as she could in this situation.

Flora shrugged, gently kicking her foot at the Dark Fairy's leg. "I truly don't know. When I was doing research, I learned that Dark Fairies only take fairies. Last I checked, I was a human. And if I can guess, he probably knew that I was as well."

Redleaf, Clarion and Milori all looked between one another, knowing glances passing between them. Flora immediately took notice. "Is there something you know that I don't?"

Clarion opened her mouth to speak before Missy suddenly screeched, stepping onto one of the Dark Fairy's wings. He groaned, his head rolling to the side. The other three fairies then stepped away from him, but Flora approached him, kneeling down beside his head. "I have a bird ready to hit you again if you try-" She threatened.

"I have no intention of 'trying' anything." He said clearly, his voice deep and scratchy. His yellow eyes opened and stared into Flora's stormy grey ones. "I'm not dense."

Flora sniffed. "You seemed to be when you snatched me. I had a  _bird_  right there as well as another fairy with me. Did you honestly think you'd succeed at anything?"

"I was trying to warn you, you daft woman!" He hissed. "Of course, your wretched bird decided to try and make scrap meat out of me." Missy suddenly pulled her foot back and dragged him along with her, giving him a sharp reminder of who was in control. "Dark Fairies don't warn, they threaten." Flora hissed.

"I'm not like most Dark Fairies. There are some good ones out there."

"Not according to your history."

"Why do you think I'm not wearing a necklace?" He snapped at her, attempting to sit up. "Our necklaces are our lives! We lose them, we're as good as dead. They define our talents, where we are placed in our society. If we lose them, we lose our talents and are executed."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"What if I told you that something is coming to Pixie Hollow? What if I told you that, sometime in your future, my former master will be coming to try and take you, and kill anyone who gets in their way? Would a Dark Fairy tell you of their master's plans?"

Flora stared directly into the Dark Fairy's eyes. Both of their gazes were unwavering, unflinching, staring almost directly into their souls.

She scoffed. "Very well. Let him go, Missy."

Flora was suddenly pulled back by Lord Milori, who's patience had finally snapped. He whipped her around. "Have you very well lost your mind?!" He hissed at her.

"That's the second time you've asked me that this evening."

"And rightfully so; Dark Fairies are deceptive creatures, Flora. Trusting one would be no different than walking into the open maw of a snake."

"With all due respect, Lord Milori, I have a fairly decent bird crap detector; that's why I'm always pointing out whenever you or any other fairy is trying to cover something up." She shook her head. "Look, I understand your concern, seeing your relationship with Queen Clarion. She is also the pinnacle of Pixie Hollow; without her, Pixie Hollow would fall. But there is almost no evidence, aside from him being a Dark Fairy, that gives us reason to not trust him."

Milori took a deep breath, looking to Clarion for some sort of aid or guidance. She only nodded her head. "I trust Flora. You should too."

Redleaf suddenly piped in. "What other choice do we have as well, Your Majesty? If he  _is_  lying, then we cannot simply release him. He would return to his master and inform them that Pixie Hollow is vulnerable."

Outnumbered at three-to-one, Milori finally sighed with resignation. "If any harm is to come to  _anyone_  in Pixie Hollow because of his being here, I'll have you know that the responsibility will be on your shoulders."

Flora nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Milori."


	12. Ravens and Crows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The supposed 'enemy' has a name, as does the people he belongs to. He offers to help Flora, but in return, she must do something that could easily put her own life in danger.

Redleaf and Lord Milori had helped bring down a table an a few stools down into the lower level, upon Flora's request. Queen Clarion was still unsure of Flora's motives and plans as far as the Dark Fairy went, but she trusted her. As long as nobody was hurt or worse, killed, she was alright.

Milori was not as assured as Clarion. Seeing a Dark Fairy already made his skin crawl, especially after what had happened to Clarion a few days prior. He trusted Flora, but he did not trust if she really knew what she was doing. Redleaf also trusted her, with every inch of his heart. But that did not stop him from being protective of Flora. She was a strong woman, but she had her limitations.

They all placed themselves on a stool (Milori and Clarion at the farther end of the table, of course). Redleaf sat beside Flora in case something went awry, and the Dark Fairy sat across from them. Missy placed herself directly beside him, glaring at him and spiking her crest. The Dark Fairy scoffed. "I get it, you wretched thing."

Missy squawked and smacked his face with her wing. Flora sighed. "I wouldn't suggest insulting my bird. As you already know, she has a temper. And, if I can be frank, she doesn't like you."

He pushed the Jay back. "The feeling is mutual."

Flora leaned in, commencing the 'interrogation'. "So, you said that there are 'some good ones out there'; I take it you're not the only Dark Fairy without a necklace?"

He nodded his head, a few strands of his dark red hair falling in front of his eyes. "There's a small community of us around. All Dark Fairies who rejected their roles." He then showed her the bottom of his wrist, where a crow was tattooed onto. "We call ourselves Crows. A lot of us had become sick of how our former master treated us and the others, and what they did with any fairies that were brought back."

"And just what exactly was done with them?" Milori asked the Dark Fairy, fixing a piercing gaze on him.

The Dark Fairy visibly shuddered, his wing feathers ruffling. "Things I'd rather not repeat."

Flora tilted her head to the side. "One thing I want clarified; can you not just put the necklace back on? Or make a new one?"

He shook his head. "There are iron-talent fairies that make the strings and pendants for the necklaces. They are made for one Fairy and one only. If we take them off, we cannot put them back on. The iron will burn us."

"Then why did I find necklaces during the two recent attacks on Pixie Hollow?"

"Sacrifices, I suppose. Were there crystals?"

Flora fished the two necklaces from her satchel, then placed them in front of him. He shuffled back slightly. "Only one of them had crystals. The second one was left bare."

"Messages. They knew the consequences of taking the necklace off, but that's life for Dark Fairies. You do as your master tells you." He quickly explained, his golden eyes darting from the necklaces to Flora, then back to the necklaces.

Redleaf was quick to pick that up. "You seem afraid of the necklaces. Why?"

"As I said, iron burns us. Especially when it's a necklace that doesn't belong to you." He put his hand over the necklaces. His hand wasn't even a few centimeters from them and his hand already started to turn red. He hissed and pulled his hand back, clenching it into a fist. "It's not like with you normal fairies; it doesn't take much to get burned."

Flora took the two necklaces and put them back in her satchel. "Are you hunted after you take the necklace off? After all, that's hypothetically disobeying your master, is it not?"

"They'd rather not waste their time in chasing us down. We're natural survivors and always on the move."

Queen Clarion finally spoke up, her voice almost sounding shaky. "You keep saying 'they'."

"Nobody knows for certain if our master is a man or a woman. Only their personal servants do. We hear their voice, but it's hard to distinguish."

"Where is this community of yours?"

The Dark Fairy slowly turned his head to Milori. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? And are you quite insane? The location of my community is for me to know and  _only_  for me to know. I'm not about to trust a  _fairy_  with this information." He spat out the word 'fairy' as if it had left a bad taste in his mouth.

Missy trilled darkly and Milori stood from his seat, Clarion pulling gently at his arm. "May I remind you who's in charge, here."

The Dark Fairy crossed his arms. "What are you going to do, Lord of Winter? You're a sparrow man without wings. If you were to suddenly pop up at my home without me there, you and whoever you bring with you would die."

Flora and Redleaf stared wide-eyed at him, shocked with how openly he was speaking. She cleared her throat. "How, pray tell, did you know about that?"

He turned his gaze away from Milori, seemingly unperturbed by his attitude. "I was an observer-talent fairy. I literally watched other fairies, making sure they had their necklaces. I observed for over a century and I know many things just by how a fairy walks, talks, acts, even eats. I know when something is wrong. When one was without their necklace, I brought them to our master. They called me Reaper before I myself left the community."

"And what are you called now?"

He hesitated. "Raven. A dark bird but with a brighter attitude."

Clarion finally got Milori to sit back down and the Lord of Winter sighed. "Well then... Raven. Why is it that you tried to take Flora?"

Raven rolled his eyes. "As I said, to warn her."

"What of?"

"As I also said, that our master is coming."

"What for?"

He finally sighed and turned himself fully towards Milori, now annoyed with him. "For a wise and knowledgeable sparrow man, you certainly can be dense. And, quite frankly, grating on the nerves. You should take some lessons from your lady and learn how to calmly question someone."

Redleaf groaned and held his head in his hands, Flora slammed her head onto the table, Missy backed up and hid behind her wings and Clarion sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You're really not making things better for yourself..." Flora muttered.

"Hush up; he will not trust me even if I sacrificed my own life for him  _or_  his love. In fact, he would probably rejoice in my death if it ever came."

"Once again,  _not_  helping." Flora hissed.

Milori's eyes narrowed and he, once again, stood from his seat. "Excuse me."

He left with a huff and Queen Clarion quickly shot Flora an almost apologetic look before taking off after Milori. As soon as they were out of view, Raven scoffed and rolled his eyes, making Flora glare at him. "I have half a mind to slap you right about-"

"Do note that I did not mean a word I had said. I just needed them both to leave." He interrupted. The then turned back to her and leaned in. "Look, Flora, I don't know if you realize this, but you're in far more danger than you realize."

Redleaf gently grabbed at Flora's shoulders. "What sort of 'danger'?" He asked.

Raven looked almost nervous, his eyes darting from Flora to Redleaf, licking at his lips. "My former master knows she's here."

Redleaf shrugged. "And?"

"And they aren't aware that she's human."

Redleaf and Flora looked to each other. Her eyes darted back to Raven and Redleaf gave a ghost of a shrug in response.  _'I don't understand, either.'_. Raven then sighed in annoyance.

"My former master believes that she is part of some omen; a folly of the Dark Fairies, in my personal opinion. It is said that a wingless fairy, born of dust, is to arrive within Pixie Hollow. She is filled with love, honour, compassion, happiness and hope. However, this can turn into a dangerous weapon." His face turned grim as he explained this to them, his lips pursing. "Because of her almost pure qualities, the wingless fairy is to be taken to my former master, where she must undergo a horrible ritual. She will become the Darkest Fairy, her pure qualities corrupted and destroyed. She will then be forced to do as they command, laying waste to Pixie Hollow. Everything you've ever known, will be gone. Fairies will die, others may not be so lucky. Ministers, Lord Milori and his Queen shall be taken and they will be... used. Abused, tortured beyond recognition. They will have to undergo similar rituals as Flora, then they will be her subordinates."

Raven looked between the young couple, their faces visibly paled as he told them the 'omen'. Redleaf looked like he was nearly about to vomit, Flora as if she were halfway to passing out.

"B-but... I'm not a fairy..." Flora said, her voice cracking and wavering.

"They don't know that. However, that gives you an advantage. All you need to do is-"

Redleaf suddenly stood, almost tipping over due to his nearly nauseous state. "I see where this is headed and no! She is not about to be used as bait!"

Flora tutted, smacking at his leg. "Do sit down before you fall and hit your head."

He looked down incredulously. "Have you gone mad? I'm not going to risk you dying, Flora!"

"Would you rather everyone else, then, Minister?" Raven asked. "Would you rather seal her fate? Would you rather see your love tortured and forced to do as my former master wishes? Would you rather see her violated, broken, nearly slaughtered by their hands?"

The mere thought of what the Dark Fairy had described, having to be a witness to all of what Flora would be put through, was almost enough to make Redleaf vomit then and there. Flora then suddenly slipped her hand into his and squeezed it, looking up to stare into his eyes. "Red..."

Redleaf swallowed the lump in his throat and finally found the strength to breath properly again, relaxed by her soft touch. Either situation was a losing one, but the outcome of one was far worse than the other. Reluctantly, he sat himself back down and straightened out his robe by pulling at the hem, an agitated habit, Flora had learned. "Very well..."

Raven folded his hands onto the table. "Good, we're finally on the same page. There is but one request I have for you, Flora."

She narrowed her eyes warily. "Depends on what that 'request' is."

"You must come with me back to my community."

"I'm literally  _praying_  you realize how big of a request that is, yes?" She pointed to Redleaf. "He  _barely_  trusts you." She gestured to the stairs leading to the upper floors. "Lord Milori almost wishes you would go and bury yourself. And Queen Clarion..." She licked at her lips. "She's difficult to read, but I'm certain she doesn't trust you anymore than Milori does."

Missy suddenly squawked and ruffled her feathers. Flora waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, we  _all_  know how you feel about him, no need to get worked up." She turned her attention back to the Dark Fairy. "If you and I are both missing, Lord Milori would think the worst of you."

"That's why I didn't make your Minister leave. He can vouch for us."

"And risk the possible wrath of the Lord and Queen?" Redleaf scoffed. "I would rather eat a poison berry."

"I could leave a note saying I'm alright?" Flora suggested.

Redleaf sighed. Once again, there were moments when Flora could be quite dense. "Flora, if they know that I  _willingly_  let you go with a Dark Fairy, imagine what would happen; they would question me, my loyalty and my sanity!"

Flora shrunk in on herself. "Oh, I didn't think of that..."

Raven leaned in closer to them. "Look, your rulers are graceful. They can forgive. Eventually, if not immediately."

"I  _refuse_  to let her leave with you."

"Then you have sentenced each and every fairy to death!"

"Can we all just calm down and perhaps think logically?" Flora demanded, immediately silencing the two sparrow men. "Look, why do I need to go with you to a community of Dark Fairies, anyhow? What would I do there?"

"If you're no longer seen in Pixie Hollow, my former master won't dare approach this place."

"And you think your home is any safer?"

"They do not know where we are. There, you can prepare yourself."

"For  _what_?!"

"Anything." Raven shrugged. "My former master is capable of anything, so you must prepare your mind, your soul, and your body. We have a meditation-talent fairy that can help with that."

"And what of me?" Redleaf asked. "Do I just stand around, waiting for the Queen to ask on Flora's whereabouts?"

"What else can you do? You cannot come with me lest your rulers think I took the both of you. Someone must be here to leave a message or at least let them know of our whereabouts."

"And where would that be?"

"My community."

Flora sighed heavily. "He means where  _specifically_? It's not good for a Minister to even deliver this sort of information, let alone information that is not detailed. What harm is there in telling him where you are?"

"Would you rather risk your rulers being put into danger and following us?"

Flora shrugged. "They are wise; I'm certain they would know better than to follow someone directly into a Dark Fairy community. Lord Milori wouldn't allow it, anyhow. He cares too much for Clarion to put either of them in danger. They both also wouldn't allow for the Ministers to follow, or for any other fairy to follow."

They both then looked to Redleaf, who suddenly felt much smaller under their gaze. "You realize how hard this is for me, Flora. This goes against everything I had been taught. I don't want to lose you..."

"You won't. Even if you do, better for it to be me than countless innocent fairies and sparrow men. Redleaf, don't think just about me, think about Pixie Hollow."

Redleaf pursed his lips and rubbed his temples, his brows furrowing in frustration. The Lord and Queen would be almost furious if they knew he had let them go. He could claim he was under duress, but that would make it seem that Raven had simply kidnapped Flora. He didn't want anyone to die or get hurt, but he didn't want to let Flora go off with a Dark Fairy, not knowing if she was in good health or dead in a ditch. He heaved the deepest of sighs. "How long do you think it'll be before Flora can return to Pixie Hollow?"

Raven patted the sparrow man's shoulder, making him cringe and take his hand off finger-by-finger. "Rest assured, Minister, if everything goes according to plan, she should return by the end of the next season. I can send a messenger to the beach to tell you of her whereabouts, if that would put your mind at rest?"

He slowly nodded. "It would take a heavy load from my shoulders, yes."

Flora placed a delicate hand on his knee, giving it a slight squeeze. She gave him one of her more smaller smiles, signalling her own nervousness. "Remember who this is for."

They stared deeply into each other's eyes. To everyone else, they would be purely silent, but to each other, it was as if they had spoken a thousand words.

Raven suddenly groaned in disgust. "If you two are about to snog, then let me know  _beforehand_  so I don't have to witness any of it."

Flora shot the Dark Fairy her iciest, most threatening glare. "I could let Missy have a go at you if you want?"

The Jay trilled and ruffled her feathers, more than happy to oblige. Raven raised his hands and ruffled his own wing feathers. "No, I'm fine, thank you. I have a bad enough concussion as it is."


	13. Caught

Sleep did not come easy for Redleaf. In fact, it didn't come at all. After Flora and Raven had left with Missy, he had gone back to his home to sleep before the morning came. Unfortunately, his anxiety had kept him awake.

Flora and Raven had managed to get out of Pixie Hollow without being spotted by anyone, so that was a good thing. Before they left, Flora had given him a set of instructions in case he were to be questioned on Flora's whereabouts, the first step being to not panic. If they were lucky, neither Queen Clarion or Lod Milori would go to check on Raven. If they did, she had told him to just simply tell the truth. If they asked where she was, then he would have to say with Raven and Missy. Where specifically; Redleaf had the option to tell them their location or not, but Flora said it would be better to say or risk being less trustworthy in the eyes of the Lord and Queen.

It was most certainly easier said than done.

Redleaf flew to the Pixie Dust Tree, his apprehension growing and growing as he neared it. If the Queen was still, somehow, asleep, then he would be lucky. If not, there was a slight risk in her asking questions. Under normal circumstances, he would be undaunted. But this wasn't a normal circumstance. A Dark Fairy was involved; it could never be normal at all!

He rubbed at his tired eyes and stifled a yawn. He had to pull himself together or he'd never be able to face the Queen without babbling like an idiot.

"Redleaf?"

He suppressed the urge to cringe. Of all the luck he could have had for that day, why the bad luck? He straightened his posture and turned, bowing slightly to Clarion. "Your Majesty."

"Where is the Dark Fairy? Raven?"

He feigned a confused expression. "Is he not in the lower levels?"

Queen Clarion took a breath. "No, he's missing. Did you and Flora make sure to lock the doors before you left?"

"I assure you that we had double-checked."

He didn't like lying to his Queen. He didn't like lying in general, but if he were to follow through with what Flora and Raven had planned, he ultimately had no other choice. "Did you happen to see Flora on your way here?"

Redleaf cleared his throat. "Yes I did. She said she'll be out scouting again."

The Queen stared at him, her eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly, scrutinizing the Minister of Autumn. Redleaf placed his hands behind his back, a way to keep his wings from nervously fluttering, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and incredibly nervous.  **Now isn't the time to lose your composure!**  He scolded himself.

Clarion's eyebrows shot up slightly and he heard the faintest sound of a sharp intake of breath. Redleaf swallowed.

He was caught.

"Where is she?" Clarion asked again, this time with an edge to her voice.

He opened his mouth to speak, but all he could muster was a simple, "Uh..."

"Minister."

His wings fluttered and he flew backwards a short pace. He then licked at his lips, which were suddenly dry. "I... uh... that is..."

Queen Clarion held her hands in front of her, straightening her posture and raising her chin slightly. "Redleaf, if Flora is where I'm hoping she isn't..." She trailed off, leaving the rest for Redleaf to imagine for himself.

Redleaf sighed in resignation, his eyes not daring to meet the Queen's, both out of respect as well as shame. "Forgive me, Your Majesty."

/ / /

They landed in a clearing within the forest, dismounting from her back and pulling out some food from her satchel. "Apologies, Raven, but Missy isn't used to flying for so long."

He bit into a chunk of apple, savouring the sweet flavour. "Not to worry. If they did end up following us, they won't be able to catch up to us for another few hours. Unless they have a bigger bird with them."

"Lord Milori has an owl."

Raven shook his head, quickly swallowing the apple. "Most owls aren't meant for speed. They're graceful creatures, but they're not the fastest. If he did use his owl, we're still well ahead of them."

Flora nodded, although her nerves weren't any less calm. "What if they had found out shortly after we left?"

"Look, we left just a couple of hours before the sunrise. It's almost early in the afternoon, I doubt they're anywhere near." He fished something from out of his satchel and tossed it to Flora, who gracefully caught it. "Chew on these, they'll help you stay awake."

"Sunflower seeds?"

"Sunflower seeds."

"Aren't they just for bones?"

He rolled his eyes. "Just eat them. They're good for more than just bone strength."

Flora shrugged and cracked open the seed, tossing away the shell and nibbling at the end. "So, your people in your community, are they particularly open about strangers?"

His wings raised slightly, representing a shrug. "Normally they aren't, but after I found out about you and told them, they'll be fine with meeting you. The kids especially."

Flora cocked her head to the side, immediately interested. "You have children?"

"I don't have my own, but there are kids. They love meeting new people."

She smiled a little at that. Perhaps he was more trustworthy than everyone thought he could be. According to her research, Dark Fairies weren't permitted to have children. Something about having children that made the Dark Fairies a little more 'light', probably due to sentiment. "I did always enjoy spending time with children back home in London."

This time  _he_  was interested. "Is that what you call it? 'London'? I thought it was just the Mainland."

She shrugged. "Each place on the Mainland has a name, and the name of the place I live is called London."

"Interesting..."

Missy suddenly screeched, her crest raising and her head darting up towards the sky, then around the thick of the forest. Flora was immediately by her side. "What is it, girl?"

"Could just be a hawk spooking her. We're fine on the ground." Raven said, finishing the last of his apple.

Missy screeched again, this time spreading her wings and fluffing her feathers. Flora tried her best to calm the Jay down, stroking at her crest and at her neck, but with no avail. "Raven, I think we should get moving. Something is  _really_  bothering her."

"Once again, she's probably spooking herself." He dismissed them both with a wave of his hand. "There isn't too much out here anyways."

A deep growl resonated from the forest and Missy screeched again, making herself almost impossibly larger. Raven's head shot to the forest, his own blood running cold at the sound. "Mountain lion..."

Flora mounted Missy and Raven quickly followed suit. Flora flicked at the reins and they took off, heading almost straight up into the sky. They had left just in the nick of time, as the 'mountain lion' had pounced out from the forest, turning around as if looking for them. Flora spared a glance back down at the ground before turning her attention back to the skies ahead. "That didn't look like a mountain lion to me!" She exclaimed.

"It's a giant cat, who cares what it is?!" He snapped back at her, keeping a grip on Missy's feathers and spreading his wings out for balance. "It can easily eat all three of us!"

A loud trill echoed through the skies and Raven's head shot up then turned around to look behind him. "What kind of a bird is that?"

"What does it look like?" She asked.

He shrugged his wings. "Big, a rounded head, and it's blindingly white."

Flora gasped and looked behind them as well. As soon as her eyes fell onto the creature, she recognized it immediately. "How did Milori find us so quickly?!" She exclaimed.

"Wait, so that thing is an owl?"

She looked at him, almost incredulous. "Lord Milori found us, when you said we were hours ahead of them, and all you have to say about it is, 'that thing is an owl?'!?"

Raven shrugged. "I've never seen an owl like that!"

Flora groaned and flicked at the reins, causing Missy to fly at a faster speed. "We have to lose him."

"How?"

"Through the lower parts of the trees, you daft idiot!"

He tapped her shoulder and she turned her head, shooting him an annoyed look. He pointed down. "With that thing following us, I don't think that's the best idea."

She looked down and, in the gaps in the canopy, she could see the big cat chasing after them, dodging and weaving between the trees. She sighed, looking up to the sky. "Why is everything working against me today?"

"Flora!"

She looked back to see that Lord Milori had managed to catch up to them, flying almost directly behind them. Flora growled and pushed on Missy's neck, sending them into a sharp nose dive. Once they broke past the canopy, she pulled up and back, making the Jay fly at an even level and a slower speed. "Better hold on," She called to Raven, "because I don't have much experience with steering in a thick forest!"

" _Now_  you tell me to hang on!" He hissed. "I almost fell off the wretched thing!"

Flora shrugged. "You have wings, you can fly." She then flicked the reins. "Let's go, girl!"

Missy squawked and pounded her wings, picking up her speed. Flora leaned down and Raven did the same, eliminating the risk of them being caught on a branch or slowing Missy down. "Don't talk to me or you'll distract me!" She shouted.

Flora wrapped the reins around her hands and she tightened her grip. Taking a deep breath, she whispered. "Please make this work."

An angry screech echoed through the air and Anthros came barreling through the canopy, nearly crashing into Missy. Missy squawked and dodged from the massive owl without any encouragement from Flora. "Flora, stop your bird and land it this instant!" Milori demanded.

Flora didn't spare him a glance. "Can't do that, Milori!" She pulled sharply on the reins, making Missy turn off to the right, away from Anthros.

Milori halted his owl, looking onward as Flora guided her bird through the trees. If things went accordingly, she would be landing a lot sooner than she realized.

Raven glanced back. "He's not chasing us!" He stated.

"Like, turning off and avoiding us or stopping?"

"He's stopped completely!"

That wasn't good. Milori would at least be making some sort of effort to chase them down, he wouldn't dare allow any sort of long distance lest he lose them altogether.

Another bird suddenly flew out in front of them. On instinct, Flora sharply pulled to the left. Missy screeched at the sudden movement, flapping her wings to keep her balance.

Anthros had been waiting almost directly ahead of them and Flora pushed down, grunting with the effort. "How many more are there?!" She asked nobody in particular.

"There's two of them following us!" Raven replied.

"That was rhetorical, you daft idiot; keep your head down!"

They heard a loud growl and she looked down and saw that the big cat was still giving chase to them, but it appeared to be much closer to them. Whoever was with Milori, they had sent her further down and into the thicker parts of the trees! And closer to the large predator. Were they intentionally trying to kill them?!

Raven leaned in towards Flora. "There's fairies on that creature."

"What?!"

"Two of them!"

Flora dodged and weaved between a series of branches, getting whipped in the face by a few stray leaves. She shook her head, spitting out any bits of leaf that had made it into her mouth. "I don't know if I can handle much more of this..."

"Neither can your bird; she is tiring!"

Flora knew this already; Missy had started to slow down and her wing beats had become almost irregular. They either had to keep flying straight or land, because if Missy continued to use energy by dodging branches, she would just shut down completely and crash into the forest floor.

"Where's Lord Milori?" She asked.

"Almost right behind us again. His owl is reared up!"

Flora pushed down and Missy slowly dived, her speed slowly faltering.

Anthros screeched and his talons just grazed at Missy's tail feathers, causing her to lose her balance. She flapped her wings in an attempt to readjust herself while Flora tugged at the reins, attempting to guide the Blue Jay. "Missy, you have to angle yourself-"

"Look out!"

She looked up.

Immediately she was hit in the face by a branch, pushing both she and Raven off from the bird. Missy attempted to turn back, but due to her being so unused to flying without the guidance of her rider, she immediately crashed into another branch and plummeted to the ground.

Raven grabbed at Flora, who appeared to have been knocked out from the branch. Then, spooning her, he wrapped his wings around her and braced himself for what he knew was going to be a hard impact.

/ / /

Redleaf immediately stopped the Lynx and dismounted from it, quickly assisting the Queen down and then flying over to where the Dark Fairy had landed. "Please let her be alright, please let her be alright..."

Lord Milori and Hyacinth had landed near where Raven had fell, dismounting from their birds and immediately going over to check on them. "How could you do that?! She could very well be dead because of you!" Redleaf hissed at the Lord of Winter.

"Watch your tongue, Minister!" Milori retorted.

Raven's eyes opened and he shook his head, grimacing from the pain in his back. The fall itself had made him briefly blank out, but he recovered quickly. He checked under his wings to make sure that she was still there.

He grimaced again as he heard a shout from Milori. "Where is she?!"

Raven groaned and unwrapped his wings, immediately turning over onto his back. "She's alive..." He muttered.

Redleaf knelt down and carefully turned Flora over, resting her head in his lap. Blood trickled slowly from above her eyebrow, where a vicious-looking bruise had already formed. She was still breathing. "Flora?" He gently called. "Flora, can you hear me?"

Her brows almost immediately furrowed and a soft groan sounded from within her throat. Immediately his hopes soared. "Flora, it's Redleaf!"

She groaned again and slowly opened her eyes, a grimace taking over her features. "Why are you bloody here?!" She hissed, attempting to sit herself up. "Where's Missy?"

"Please, stay still," he urged her, "you took a severe blow to the head."

"No thanks to Milori and his bloody owl!" She growled. Flora then shoved at Redleaf and pulled herself up, holding her head in her hands. "Wherever he is, I'll see to it he wakes up tomorrow with a concussion."

"I would enjoy seeing you attempt that. " Milori said, glowering at Flora.

Flora stood from the ground, nearly tipping over from the rush of blood to her head. "What are you doing here, Red?!"

Before Redleaf could respond, Milori approached her and grabbed her shoulder, both to support her and to grab her attention. "The better question is, what are  _you_  doing here? And with that Dark Fairy?" He squeezed her shoulder. "Did you very well lose your mind?!"

Clarion placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Milori..."

Immediately Flora's eyes shot open at the sound of the Queen's voice. She ripped away from Milori's grip and away from Redleaf, panic spreading through her already fogged mind. "What?"

Milori, Queen Clarion, Redleaf and Hyacinth were all there, some looking concerned while others looked almost angry. Clarion looked almost unrecognizable, as she wasn't in her usual golden dress. She also wasn't wearing her crown. Her dress was replaced with a form fitting, long sleeved shirt, made from the petals of an Iris. She also wore a pair of leggings, made from petals of periwinkles. Hyacinth was also out of his more formal robe, although, the colour scheme hadn't changed much. He didn't have his leafy 'crown', but he still had his blue overcoat, only without the frills along his neck, and he had a pair of purple leggings. Milori had not changed his clothing at all and Redleaf was in his casual clothes, but his hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

Flora rubbed at her temples. "I thought you would all be smart and stay back, but no, you all decided to be idiots!" She muttered.

Clarion tried to calm her down. "Flora, we are only here to take you back."

Raven groaned and sat up, arching his back and cracking it. "If she wanted to come back, do you really think she'd leave in the dead of night?"

Milori snapped his fingers and pointed to Raven. Anthros warbled and grabbed onto Raven's shirt. " _Very_  mature, Lord of Winter." He drawled sarcastically.

Redleaf sighed. "Flora, I truly am sorry-"

She held up a hand. "I'm not mad at you. At all." She pointed to Milori and glared daggers at him. " _You_ , however, I am furious with!"

"You have no right-"

"I have every bloody right, you git!" She shouted. "If you and Red came on your own, I would be fine. But no, you were so daft that you permitted the Minister of Spring and the Queen of Pixie Hollow to come along with you! If she were to die out here, it would be on my shoulders and her blood on your hands!"

They all just stood there, unsure of how to react to Flora's ramblings. They have seen her upset before, but never to this degree. She would sometimes shout, or she would tell them to leave her be, but she wasn't telling them anything now. None of them knew if they should speak, stay silent, try to comfort her, or leave her be.

She continued to shout, her voice cracking and wavering and tears began to flow from her eyes. "I thought you would be wise and stay back at Pixie Hollow, but no, instead you put yourselves directly in danger by leaving its borders and following me! All because of your distrust towards a Dark Fairy!" When she heard Missy chirping at her, she gestured to the Jay with her hands. "You almost killed me  _and_  my bird with the bloody little move you pulled! And just imagine, if I actually died because of Dark Fairies and you came to get me; you all would be dead as well! Pixie Hollow would fall, and everyone else would die!  _How could you not consider these things, you bloody little morons_!?"

Redleaf finally stepped in, pulling Flora into a tight embrace. He ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her shoulder, kissing her on her head. "Shh, Flora, it's fine, we're fine. Please, just calm down."

Flora bawled and buried her face into his chest. "I'm just so frustrated and I'm in so much pain... How could they just..." She sobbed, her shoulders shaking and her back rising and falling from her laboured breaths.

He rubbed her back. "Just breath, Flora. I'm here for you..." He kissed her head again and shot Milori a dirty look. The Lord of Winter raised his hands slightly and furrowed his brows.  _'What did I do?'_.

Everyone stood in silence, waiting patiently for Flora to calm herself down. Slowly, her sobs turned to small whimpers and her breathing had returned to normal. She sniffled and gently pushed at Redleaf's chest. She rubbed her eyes, sniffling again. "You all need to go back."

Redleaf stiffened. "Not a chance; I'm not leaving you while you're in this state."

Raven cleared his throat. "She's right, though. None of you can be here. It's too dangerous."

Clarion slowly approached Flora and Redleaf. "Flora, the fairies in Pixie Hollow know what is going on. They know we're here. Snowflake was left in charge of the Winter Woods, Sunflower, Fairy Mary and Fairy Gary are all taking care of the warm seasons."

Flora let out a laugh, which sounded like just another sob. "Worse, then; all the fairies will be paranoid thinking Dark Fairies will come and-"

Clarion placed a hand on her shoulder. "They all were worried. But they are all more mature than you would think; if any of us were to die, they know that successors have been chosen. They are prepared."

"Because that's completely reassuring." Flora muttered.

"Fairies don't all live forever, Flora. Every fairy learns that and accepts that. But we never let that eat at us." Clarion explained. "We continue to live happily, despite knowing this. And we are always prepared."

Death was always a concept that frightened Flora. But what Queen Clarion was saying to her, closely related to what she was taught as a young child, after her father died. 'Nobody lives forever, Flora.', her mother told her. 'But we all will move on to a happier place; we will all be able to see each other again.'.

Flora sniffed, finally looking to Clarion. "Alright. Alright, I'm okay..."

"You have a head injury..." Redleaf said.

"You know what I mean, Red..."

/ / /

Hyacinth placed the soaked leaf onto Flora's bruise, making her flinch in response. "Would you quit doing that?" He asked her. "I'm trying to help."

"Excuse me for reacting to pain." She hissed, wincing as he placed the leaf back onto the bruise and gently wiped the blood away.

"I do apologize, Flora." Milori said. "I wasn't expecting...  _that_  to happen."

A ghost of a smile spread on her lips. "You did what you had to do, Milori. Things can sometimes go wrong in a plan, you can't control that."

Raven had suggested they all stay and camp for the rest of the day. Their birds (and, of course, the Lynx that Redleaf and Clarion had borrowed from Dewey) all needed to rest and Flora needed to properly recover from her injury. Night had fallen and Raven had managed to get a campfire going, providing warmth for them all (the cold of the evening was enough to keep Milori's temperature at a proper level). They all had to sit on the forest floor, due to the lack of rocks or thick branches, but Redleaf had managed to find some soft, fuzzy leaves for them to use as cushions and blankets so they'd all be comfortable.

Flora hissed again as Hyacinth applied more pressure to a particularly dry area of blood, squeezing Redleaf's hand. "I'll admit, I'm surprised you weren't passed out for a longer amount of time." He commented. "You were going at a fairly high speed."

Flora chuckled. "I've had harder hits to the head, before. And I also have a thick skull." She joked.

"Where could you have hit your head any harder than this?" Hyacinth asked, holding the leaf to the bruise while he rooted through his small pack.

"I skated on a pond back in London," she explained, "I wasn't always the best and a few falls had put me in the hospital. A few hard hits later, I was getting used to it."

Hyacinth sniffed. "That probably wasn't the best for your brain."

"I haven't damaged my brain yet, Cinth. Give me a good thwack over the head with a pipe, then we'll see."

He sighed and replaced the soaked leaf with a paste. "This should help with the bruising, at least." He said.

Redleaf nodded. "Thank you."

"Mhm."

Clarion, who was sitting beside Milori, addressed the Dark Fairy. "Is everything you said true?"

Raven's wings flapped in annoyance. "I wouldn't lie about such horrible things, now would I?" He snapped.

"And this community of yours, is it safe for us?" She asked.

Raven made a bit of a face, raising his hand and tilting it fro side to side. "Sort of depends. They know I'm coming with Flora, but I don't know how they'll react to fairies being with me. The kids will love you, though."

Clarion's face lit up. "There are children there?"

"A few." He replied. "They love meeting new people."

The Lynx suddenly yawned and stretched, smacking his lips. Flora then yawned and patted at the gentle beasts' fur. "Yawns are contagious, stop it!" She joked.

Raven chuckled. "You all should probably get to sleep anyways. We have a few hours of travel before we get there, and we should head out bright and early." He stood from his spot and stretched himself out. "I'll keep watch."

"Should we take shifts?" Flora asked.

Raven shrugged his wings. "Dark Fairies don't sleep often. Maybe a few hours a week. I'll be fine."

Milori eyed the Dark Fairy. Although he had earned at least some of Milori's trust by keeping Flora safe, he was still wary of the dark creature.

Hyacinth then yawned and stretched out his arms. "That actually sounds nice, all things considering." He then lied against his turtledove and pulled the leaf over himself. "Rest well." He said.

Anthros trilled and ruffled his feathers slightly, giving Clarion and Milori plenty of cushion. Milori pulled the leaf over their bodies. "Rest well." He replied.

Missy, who was frightened of the big cat, had placed herself far away from the beast. She squawked to Flora, who waved back. "Good night, Missy."

Redleaf and Flora got themselves adjusted against the Lynx until they were comfortable and then he pulled the leaf over them, snuggling closer to Flora. He gave her a small peck on her lips and then wrapped his arms around her. "Good night, my little flower." He whispered.

Flora smiled, gently elbowing him. "I'm not as little as I look." She joked.

"Says the one who has to stand on her tippy toes to kiss her beloved."

She turned herself around to face him. "Keep talking and you'll be sleeping on the other end of the campfire."

He smiled and kissed her again. "And you'll be missing all the body warmth and then come over to me."

"Fair point, Red."

They both laughed and gave each other one last kiss before closing their eyes. "Pleasant dreams, Red."

"Pleasant dreams, Flora."


	14. Friend or Foe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally reaches the Dark Fairy community that Raven had been talking about. However, the welcome is not as warm as they all had hoped.

She felt something poking at her arm insistently. She stirred, swatting at whatever was disturbing her. After a moment, it poked her again and she swung her whole arm out, not pleased at whatever was waking her from her sleep.

She heard a soft chirp and felt feathers brushing over her hair. Flora groaned and curled herself into a ball, pulling the leaf over her head.

For a few brief moments, there was silence. Just when Flora felt as if she was about to fall back asleep, a loud screech sounded off beside her ear. She shrieked and sat up, attempting to back up and away from whatever was screeching at her. She succeeded only in crushing her hand into Redleaf's stomach. He heaved out a breath and sat up, almost gasping for air. "What in the name of-?"

Missy's screech and Flora's scream immediately woke Hyacinth, who also screamed and sat up. Out of both fear and instinct, he grabbed the thing nearest to him and threw it towards the source of the noise. The stone he threw flew past Redleaf and Flora and slammed into the Lynx's side, making her growl uncomfortably. She sat up and moved her paw forward, landing on top of Anthros' tail. The Snowy Owl screeched and, panicked, flapped his wings in an attempt to escape whatever was trapping him. His wings slapped both Milori and Clarion awake. Milori, startled, immediately shot up. "What, what is it?!"

He attempted to walk but, due to him having just woken up, tripped over his own feet, falling head-over-heels and landing on his back.

Flora glared at her Blue Jay, who only chirped mirthfully and rolled over on her back, amused by the unintentional chain reaction she caused.

Everyone, finally realizing the cause of the disruption, all shouted, "Missy!"

/ / /

With everyone already awake, they decided it was best to eat and then head out. The Lynx had a "collar" of sorts around her neck, which actually had a large pack filled with pouches of Pixie Dust, more than enough to supply the fairies for a few months.

Redleaf took the dust and tossed it into the air, the golden particles landing onto him. He craned his head back and fluttered his wings, watching as the dust was absorbed by them.

Flora smiled. "You're already dashingly handsome, Red, but the Pixie Dust makes you look rather beautiful. Almost like an angel."

He raised an eyebrow at her, depositing the empty pouch into the pack and flying over to her. "And you, my dear, are also rather beautiful. With or without Pixie Dust."

He saw as the blush formed on her freckled cheeks and a ghost of a smile spread on her lips. Redleaf then placed a gentle hand alongside her face, his thumb brushing over her cheek, making her eyes close as she turned into his touch. Redleaf leaned down, his head tilting, his eyes closing and his lips slightly parting.

"Let's go, you two!" Raven shouted.

The young couple sighed and reluctantly parted. Redleaf gave her a small look.  **Later...**

Flora then called over to her bird. "Missy, are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

The Jay chirped and ruffled her feathers.  _'I'm okay!'_

Flora still had some slight pain from where she had hit her head and Clarion had suggested she ride on the Lynx with Redleaf, so then she wouldn't have to focus on flying. Raven, of course, decided to fly on his own, as he didn't want to ride Missy and then have her 'accidentally' throw him off.

Redleaf assisted Flora up onto the back of the Lynx, carrying her up and then situating himself in front of her. "I suggest you hold onto something, little flower," He said to her, wrapping the reins around his hands. "Riding on Fiona can prove to be a little bumpy."

She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Will this work?" She asked.

He smiled and chuckled. "As long as you don't pull me off, we should be fine."

Raven flew up into the air a few feet. "We will get there hopefully before the sun sets. Just follow me and we should be fine."

He took off into the air, his wings pounding and creating a circle of dust in his wake. Lord Milori, who had Clarion riding with him, flicked at the reins and Anthros took off shortly after the Dark Fairy. Hyacinth followed close behind the Snowy Owl with Missy flying beside him.

Redleaf looked back to Flora. "Ready?"

She shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

He smiled and, turning back to the forest ahead, flicked the reins. "Let's go."

The Lynx took of almost at a blinding speed, dashing through the forest and dodging between the trees. Flora let out a breath and held herself closer to Redleaf. "Do you steer her or what?!"

"She steers herself!" Was his response.

/ / /

All of the birds in flight suddenly went to land in a clearing. Redleaf slowed Fiona down, careful as to not stop so fast that he jerk the woman holding onto him awake.

Somehow, miraculously, Flora had managed to fall back asleep sometime during the ride to the Dark Fairy community. He didn't realize it until he looked back to check up on her. There she was, still peacefully leaning against his back with her arms still wrapped around his waist. He couldn't help but smile at her.

Once he met with the others in the clearing, he set the Lynx to lay down so he could speak with the Dark Fairy. "What's going on, why are we stopped here?"

Raven gave him a look. "Why do you think?"

Redleaf's brows furrowed, briefly confused. Upon the realization of what he meant, he released his grip on the reins and rubbed at Flora's arms. "Flora, love?"

She stirred, wrapping her arms tighter and nuzzling into his back. "Mhm...?"

"We're here."

She furrowed her brows, moving her head so her chin was resting on his back. She slowly opened her eyes. "We're where?"

He stifled a laugh. "Wherever Raven took us to. We're here."

Her eyes opened fully and she released her grip on his waist, stretching out her arms and yawning. "Goodness, was I really asleep for that long?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so, my dear." He dismounted the Lynx and offered his hand to her. "Not that you missed much, unless you count endless trees as a beautiful sight."

She took his hand and slid off of Fiona, Redleaf placing his hand on her hip to help steady her. "Are you ready for this?" He whispered, darting his eyes towards Raven.

She shrugged. "We're here now; no sense in turning back."

They walked over to where the others waited for them, hand in hand. "What can we expect from this community of yours?" Milori asked.

"Just expect a lot of speculation, really." Raven shrugged his wings. "As I said, they only expected me to come back with Flora, and not with a group of fairies and their pets. And expect a lot of children wanting to touch your hair."

"Our hair?" He asked.

Raven brushed his own with his fingers. "We can't seem to grow our hair out. They'll want to do things like braid or fishtail it," he then pointed to Redleaf, "his especially. Unless you don't mind children touching your hair, I suggest putting it into a bun or something. A ponytail won't cut it, for them."

Clarion suddenly let her hair out from its bun, letting the golden locks fall past her ears. Milori looked down at her, his brows furrowing. "What are you doing?"

She ran her fingers through her hair, smiling up to at him. "I just love children, Milori. I don't mind a few giving me a braid or two."

Raven turned his attention back to Redleaf. "You sure you don't want to put your hair up?"

He shrugged indifferently. "Not at all. I don't mind someone touching my hair."

"Alright, then." He gestured to the forest in front of them. "If you'll follow me."

They all flew (or walked, for a few individuals) a few paces behind Raven, with their pets walking close behind them. Flora whispered to Redleaf, "Your hair  _is_  pretty long. I can put it into a bun for you."

He leaned his head down slightly, whispering back, "I don't mind someone messing about with my hair. You've been a great help in letting me get used to people touching it."

Whenever he and Flora would be snuggling together, she had a habit of twirling his hair between her fingers. "My sister never let me play with her hair," she had said, "and I really like how soft yours is." At first he was somewhat uncomfortable, but the way she would gently run her fingers through it became almost soothing for him.

A shout stopped all of them in their tracks. "Halt, who goes there?!"

Raven held a hand up to them. "Just a moment."

He approached the border of the forest. "A friend to a friend, who is the enemy of their enemy."

A small moment later, a Dark Fairy emerged from the forest, shaking his hand. "Raven, good to see you back in one piece!"

"Good to be back, Hawthorn."

The other Dark Fairy looked over his shoulder. "Who the heck are these people?!" She snapped at him. "You said you'd only be coming back with the human!"

Raven backed up and held up his hands. "Look, we ended up being followed. Fairies are loyal to one another, and these ones are hard to shake off anyways. They stick together, a lot like us."

The Dark Fairy walked around him, swiftly approaching the group. She looked almost menacing, and not simply because she was a Dark Fairy. Her hair was a deep blonde and spiked up, giving her an already intimidating appearance. Her eyes were a deep shade of orange and, a lot like Raven's, they seemed to glow in the light. She was small in size but she had a lot of muscle. Her wings were a deep brown, but they didn't look as torn up as Raven's did, but the same bony spikes were protruding from them. She wore a sleeveless vest with a pair of leggings, made from the dark purple of a Calla Lily. Her arms showed the occasional scar along them and she also sported the same tattoo as Raven, only it was on her shoulder. "Which one is the human?" She asked, her voice feminine but with a sharp edge. "There's two that don't appear to have wings."

"The one without the pointed ears, smart one!" Raven snapped. "The smallest female."

The Dark Fairy approached Flora and Redleaf stepped in front of her slightly, taking a defensive stance.

She scoffed. "You her bodyguard or something, tall boy?"

Flora patted his arm. "It's alright, Red." She whispered.

Reluctantly, he stepped off to the side, allowing Hawthorn to fully approach her. Flora stood as straight as possible, not allowing herself to be intimidated by the Dark Fairy.

Hawthorn eyed her up and down. She then gestured her head to the other fairies. "These people with you?"

Flora furrowed her brows. "Of course, why wouldn't they be?"

She shrugged with her wings. "You never know. Just checking." She then pointed to Redleaf. "I take it this is your lover?"

They both sputtered at her comment, speaking over one another in protest.

She closed her eyes in annoyance and then held a hand up, silencing them both. "Okay, he is, then."

"N-no, we're just courting!" Flora exclaimed. "Why would you even think that, anyways?"

"He stood in front of you to protect you, he's still wary of me right now, meaning that he cares about you to a large degree. I also don't see any rings, so that means you're neither engaged or married to one another. You're not holding hands, which means you're not entirely 'lovers' as you'd be more comfortable with each other in public if you were. You're probably sweethearts, then."

Hawthorn pointed to Clarion and Milori. "I can easily tell that those two are more than just 'courting' or sweethearts. He's taken a very defensive stance, meaning that he cares greatly for her, and she's standing close to him, which means that she cares greatly for him." She then pointed down to their adjoined hands. "They're also holding hands, which signals that they are comfortable with displays of affection in public. This also means that they are comfortable with each other. However, no rings, meaning they're not married or engaged."

Milori immediately pulled Clarion closer to him, glaring at the Dark Fairy.

Before Hawthorn could say anything else, Raven placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back. "My apologies, it's just her nature to scrutinize people. She was a lie detector-talent Dark Fairy for our former master. She can tell what you had for dinner just by the colour of your lips."

Hawthorn rolled her eyes. "I take it that all of these people are coming?"

Raven nodded. "Maybe go in and tell them all before we actually get there; we don't want any unwanted reactions from them."

She sighed and her wings drooped to the ground. "Fine, but I don't know what good it'll do."

And with that she flew off back into the forest. With her gone, Raven released a deep sigh. "I'm sorry about all that. She can't help it too much. She's not one to pay attention to social cues."

He then turned on his heel and walked to where Hawthorn had flown. "Let's go."

Everyone followed in silence, then, both shocked at what Hawthorn had said and nervous as to what lied ahead. They were about to head into a community of Dark Fairies, something that almost intimidated them. Knowing that they were good-natured did nothing to settle their nerves.

Raven pushed at a large bush, completely knocking it over. "Welcome to my home."

He walked through the fallen bush and everyone else followed right behind him.

They all were introduced to a massive village. The homes all were made out of some sort of tree, much like the homes back in Pixie Hollow. Dark Fairies flew through the air or walked along the ground. Some were in a group, some were walking alone. The children all ran freely, either playing what they thought was a game of tag or running while kicking at a ball. There were some campfires already lit up, preparing for the evening.

Some Dark Fairies had noticed their entrance, mainly because Raven had gone through the bush before them. Upon seeing him, a bunch of children all flew or ran up to him, calling out his name.

He knelt down and caught two that flew into his arms, immediately standing while holding them. "Have you guys gotten bigger since I left?"

Two children grabbed at each of his legs, giggling as he wobbled from the weight of them. Others pulled at his shirt, all talking over one another excitedly.

One of the little girls pointed to the group. "Raven, who's that?"

He turned around (as best as he could with kids hanging onto his legs). "Remember the human I said I'd come back with? These are her friends."

The children almost immediately left Raven and approached the group, almost cautiously. Clarion smiled and knelt down onto the ground. "Hello."

One of the girls approached Clarion and smiled. "My name is Iris."

"That is a very pretty name!"

As soon as Clarion said this, the children seemed to warm up to each and every one of them. One smaller child had grabbed at Milori's shirt, gently tugging on it. He lifted the boy up and smiled. "Hello, there."

Two children went over to Hyacinth, who still seemed extremely nervous about the entire situation. They appeared to really enjoy his brightly coloured overcoat, as they would be fingering at the frills.

The remaining three children walked over to Flora and Redleaf, beckoning them to come down to their level. As soon as Redleaf knelt down, the two girls immediately started touching his hair, either spinning it into braids or fishtailing the strands. The little boy who had came to Flora ran one finger along the shell of her ear. "Are you the human?"

"Yes, I am. My name is Flora."

"I'm Snapdragon. Like the flower."

More children started to flood over to the group of fairies, some with their parents in tow. Although the older Dark Fairies were more wary of the fairies, they let their children walk over to them, telling them to be careful around their pets. The adults then started talking among themselves, Flora catching bits and pieces of what they were saying.

Hawthorn managed to push through the growing crowd, spreading out her wings to give her more room. "I managed to send out the message to everyone before you actually got in, but don't be surprised if some still question it." She said to Raven.

"Look, there's only one person who's opinion I really care about," Raven snapped, "and as long as she doesn't mind, then we're fine."

Flora stood up and walked to Raven, the young boy still in tow. "Hold on, is there someone that we should be worried about, here?"

Raven grimaced. "Not really. She is basically the leader of this group of Dark Fairies. Although she has an extremely intimidating appearance, she can be really sweet. However, she is very opinionated and to-the-point. She may or may not be happy about me bringing more than one person and more than one pet."

"And if she isn't happy?"

"There isn't much she can do other than hate you, but sometimes she can have sudden-"

He was stopped mid-sentence as he heard a sharp voice call out. "What is going on here?"

Silence fell upon the crowd as she flew over then, landing just in front of Raven and Flora. At first, she had thought Hawthorn was intimidating, but this Dark Fairy made her want to dig her own grave and bury herself.

Her wings were almost massive for a Dark Fairy, the tips of them dragging on the ground. The feathers were the darkest shade of black and they were more ripped and torn, showing plenty of skin and bones underneath them. The bones that protruded from her wings were slightly more curled than regular Dark Fairy's. Her hair was an equal shade of black, the sides looking to be buzzed and the center of her hair spiked up, almost like the crest of a cardinal or blue jay. Her clothing was composed of black rose petals, the top not even having any sleeves and her leggings were ripped at the knees. She was just about as tall as Raven and she was very well built. What intimidated Flora the most was the Dark Fairy's face. Two vicious scars ran from her temple down past her jaw, one of them running over her left eye. Her left eye was pure white, not milky like most would expect it to be, but her right eye was the deepest of reds.

Raven had said she would appear intimidating, but Flora didn't think that at all. In fact, she thought that the Dark Fairy was the spawn of a pure nightmare!

The Dark Fairy tilted her head to the side, using the bone of her wing to tilt Flora's chin up. "This is the human?"

Her voice was just as scary as the rest of her, raspy and with an extremely sharp edge. It was almost bordering between masculine and feminine.

"Yes, Lilith. And her name is Flora."

She pulled her wing back, crossing her arms. "She's small for her kind."

Lilith looked past Flora's shoulder and at the nervous group of fairies. "I thought you said you'd only be bringing the human, not her fairy lackeys and their pets."

Raven cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, things sort of got out of hand. See, they were concerned for her well-being and followed us. They're a lot like us, they're loyal to each other and stick together like a family. They refused to leave her alone in this."

She walked past Flora and towards Clarion and Milori. He set the young boy back on the ground and Clarion stood back up, almost afraid of the Dark Fairy. She eyed up Milori, pushing his head off to the side with her wing, inspecting him closely. "Take off the cloak."

He furrowed his brows, glancing down to Clarion then back to Lilith. "Why?"

"Take. Off. The cloak." She repeated, her voice halting and firm. "Or I will." To reassert her demand, she hooked the bone of her wing under one of the clasps, ready to pull it off if necessary.

He pursed his lips and slightly narrowed his eyes, grabbing the edge of the wing and pushing it away. In no way was he ashamed of his broken wing, but being under the scrutiny of the Dark Fairy made him reluctant to show it. His gaze not breaking from hers, he slowly removed the clasps that held his cloak in place, completely removing it from his person. Milori raised his brows. "Satisfied?"

Lilith raised her eyebrows in response and twirled a finger. "Not quite."

He huffed sharply, stifling the growl that threatened to escape his throat. He turned his back to her, giving her a full view of his wings.

Clarion lost some of her patience. "Is there a point to this?"

"Hmm..." She gently grasped his broken wing, lifting it up. "You do realize this is fixable, yes?"

"There is no cure for a broken wing." He snapped at her, pulling his wing away from her grip and turning back around, placed the cloak back over him.

Lilith raised an eyebrow and held her hands behind her back. "False, but believe what you will."

She then turned her attention to Clarion, eyeing up her wings. "What is a Queen doing so far away from her home, then?" Lilith nodded her head to Milori. "For him, or for the human?"

Clarion stood a little straighter. "Where he goes, I go. And Flora needs all the help she can possibly get."

Lilith sniffed. She then approached Hyacinth, who resisted the urge to back away from the Dark Fairy. "A Minister?" She turned her head to Redleaf, then back to Hyacinth. "Two, but both are here for different reasons. You best dispense your worrisome nature, Minister, lest you fade quicker than you expect."

Hyacinth swallowed.

She quickly glanced at the animals before walking back over to Flora. "They are strong individuals, young human. Some more than others, but strong. And brave, and of course loyal. Surprising, but not unwelcome."

Flora huffed. "Are you done with your little 'inspection' of my friends, or do you want to inspect the animals too? Because I'll have you know that Missy could tear you apart if she wanted."

Raven cringed and Lilith's eyebrows shot up. "Who knew so much sass and attitude could come from such a small human?" She then laughed, patting Flora on the shoulder with her hand. "You've got guts, I will give you that. Keep it up, because you'll always be needing it. However, show them to the wrong person and you'll have them spilled."

She turned to the crowd. "As far as anyone is concerned, the young human Flora and her companions are not intruders or prisoners; they are guests!"

Lilith then took off into the air and everyone started to talk among one another once again and more children flooded over to the newcomers, excited to meet them and get to know them. Some even went over to pet the animals they brought. Missy was soaking up the attention and Fiona was purring contentedly. Hyacinth's turtledove was unsure of himself at first, but eventually started enjoying the attention the children were giving him.

Flora heaved a sigh of relief and nearly tipped over, Raven catching her and pushing her so she stood straight. "I want to go crawl in a hole..." She said.

Redleaf walked over to her, a young child following directly behind him. "Flora, are you alright?"

She looked disbelievingly to Redleaf. "I was just inspected like livestock by a menacing Dark Fairy that looks like she could snap my neck with just her fingers; how do you think I feel?"

He placed his arms behind his back. "Apologies for asking. To be honest, though, I did feel almost like flying back to Pixie Hollow after that whole 'display'."

Raven crossed his arms. "You should watch who you sass, though, Flora. It can be handy but sass the wrong person and you could end up as hawk meat."

They both glared at the Dark Fairy. "Thanks so much for the imagery, Raven," Flora drawled, "as if Lilith's wasn't enough. Now I'll  _definitely_  be able to sleep tonight."

Raven shrugged his wings. "Good, because you'll need all the sleep you can get for tomorrow."

Hawthorn then approached the group, her face almost amused. "Now that was something, Flora. I've never seen someone talk like that to Lilith before. It was almost funny, actually."

"Is there something else you're here for," Raven asked, "other than small talk?"

She glared. "Yes, I'm here to show these two where they'll be staying. Cobra and Jackal will be showing the royal couple and the Minister where they'll be staying. Viper is going to take the pets around to the farms."

Flora quickly grabbed their supplies from Fiona's pack and went back to Redleaf and Hawthorn. "Ready to go!"

Redleaf then attempted to walk but nearly tripped as there was a sudden weight on his leg. He looked down to see the little girl holding onto his leg, giggling playfully. "Oh, dear..."

Flora laughed. "I think you found a forever friend, Red."

Smiling, Redleaf flew a couple of feet into the air, making the child laugh. "I suppose I have."

/ / /

Hawthorn lead them to a small home made from an oak tree. The roof made from green lily pads. "It's large enough for two." She said. "I'll leave you both to get yourselves situated."

She flew into the air, gesturing to the small child that still was holding onto his leg. "Let's go, Fauna."

"Aww..." Reluctantly the little Dark Fairy released her grip on Redleaf's leg, waving goodbye to them. The couple waved back at Fauna with smiles on their faces. "Their wings are incredibly tiny." Flora commented. "It's rather cute."

"Mhm, that I can agree with." He then opened the door for Flora, bowing slightly. "After you, my dear."

She smiled. "Such a gentleman."

She walked inside the home and he followed her in, closing the door behind him.

The house was a lot larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. It almost wasn't too different from her home back in Pixie Hollow, although the colour scheme was a lot darker. The bedroom was on the main floor and the second floor, Flora guessed, was a living space.

There wasn't much wrong with it, other than one small problem.

There was only one bed.

It was more than large enough to support two people, possibly a third if said person were small enough. There were two pillows and two nightstands, one on each side. This home had actually been meant for a couple, they realized. At first, they thought that the home would be meant more for family members and be provided with two separate rooms, but apparently not.

She quickly dashed up the stairs to check and make sure there wasn't another couch or cot. But unfortunately, there was only a table and a couple of chairs. Sighing, she slowly went back down the stairs.

"Do Dark Fairies not know the definition of 'courting'?" Flora asked herself. "Or is it not in their vocabulary at all?"

"It most likely is, but remember what Hawthorn first thought of us?"

She sighed and shook her head, putting her satchel down on the floor. "Well, I call the floor, then."

"Nonsense! You can have the bed, I'll take the floor." Redleaf stated, placing his own satchel beside hers. "You're the one who may have to go through some strenuous activities, you need to be as comfortable as possible!"

She put her hands on her hips. "Is that going to be your excuse every time, Red? If so, then you'll need to give me better reasons than that to convince me otherwise."

"It's not an excuse, it's a perfectly good reason." He retorted.

"If overused, by definition, it can be considered as an excuse. Therefore, your 'reason' is now considered as an excuse and is invalid. I'm taking the floor."

Redleaf smiled and scooped her up, spinning her around and laughing joyfully. "You're very cheeky this evening, aren't you, my dear?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm on quite a streak in this moment, no sense in stopping now."

"Well, if that's the case, you are  _not_  taking the floor. As an instruction from your Minister."

He attempted to place her down onto the bed, but she didn't release her arms from around his neck. "I work in the Autumn Forest as a scout and, although you are certainly  _my_  Minister, you are not my supervisor or my boss due to me not being a fairy. Therefore," she tightened her grip and pulled him onto the bed and over onto his side, causing him to yelp at the sudden motion. "Your instruction is void. I  _am_  taking the floor."

"I won't allow it."

"You can't exactly stop me, now can you?"

He suddenly poked at her ribs, making her jump in surprise. "Don't you even think about it..."

Redleaf smiled mischievously. "I'm most certainly thinking, but unless I take the floor, I won't act upon my thinking."

He poked her ribs again and she pushed back. "Don't you dare!" She said, suppressing a giggle as best as she could.

He suddenly started to run his fingers along her ribs, making Flora burst into a fit of giggles. He applied more pressure and she started to laugh, wiggling and twisting in his grasp. He laughed along with her. "Oh, I  _dare_!"

She twisted away from him, attempting to escape the attack of tickles he unleashed. Alas, he was too quick for her and he immediately pulled her back, straddling himself over her hips to keep her from escaping and he continued to poke and jab at her ribs, not showing any signs of relenting.

Tears started streaming down her face and she gasped for air, laughing uncontrollably. "Red, you win!" She managed to say.

His hands stopped but he still applied some pressure into her ribs. "What was that? I'm afraid I didn't hear you."

"You win, you adorable dork!" She shouted, attempting to push his hands away. "Just stop tickling me!"

Redleaf finally removed his hands from her sides, placing them on either side of her head. He laughed breathlessly, his energy spent from having to hold her down whilst tickling her. "You get the bed, I get the floor." He reaffirmed.

She laughed, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Yes, Red."

Flora looked up to him, their eyes meeting. Realizing the sort of position they were in, the amusement they both felt was suddenly replaced with something else, making the air around them thick with tension.

Her eyes didn't dare look away from his, not blinking, not even flinching. Her pale skin flushed to a crimson, her lips parted and her chest heaving, still almost gasping for air. He licked at his dry lips, suddenly enticed by her appearance. Her delicate hands slid up from her sides to his neck, softly coaxing him downward.

Their eyes fluttered closed and their heads listed to the side, each holding their breath as they neared each other. Slowly, their lips met in a soft, almost delicate kiss, the contact reminding them of their need for air.

Flora snaked her hands up and pulled at the band that held his hair back, pulling it off and tossing it off to the side. His dark tresses fell around them and she trailed her fingers through them, gently pulling at the strands. She briefly broke their kiss, once again feeling out of breath. "I prefer when you don't have your hair up."

"I shall keep that in mind for the future, my dear." He leaned down and nuzzled at her neck, his lips just ghosting over her creamy skin. "For now.." He placed a quick kiss over her throat. "I have  _other_  things in mind..."

A shiver ran down her spine as he placed another, more languid, kiss on her neck. She tilted her head up, granting him more access. Redleaf then grasped at her hips and then turned them over so he was laying on his back, his lips trailing back up to hers.

They stayed like that for what had felt like hours, one on top of the other, their lips meeting over and over again. Their kisses became heated, passionate, almost feverish, their hearts pounding from within their chests and their breaths becoming shallow. They both remembered the last time something of this nature had happened, back within the Autumn Forest.

It was she who then pulled away, worried that something like that would happen again. With a shaky breath, she placed her head against his chest. "Sorry..."

He rubbed his hand over her arm in a calming manner. "Whatever for?"

"I really don't know. Just... remember what happened the last time we were like this?"

He slipped a hand underneath her chin, tilting it upward. "And remember what I had said, Flora? There is nothing wrong with it. Not in the slightest."

"I know, I know, I just..." She sighed and sat herself up, folding her hands together nervously. "I don't know how I feel about snogging, is all."

Redleaf laughed, then. "'Snogging'? Is that what you call it?"

Flora's brows furrowed. "Is that not what you call it?"

"Well, yes, although we don't use the term so lightly."

"Define 'lightly', then. Because back in London, if someone were to catch a couple kissing, that is what we consider as snogging."

He laughed again, sitting himself up alongside Flora. "And here, 'snogging' takes a lot more than just kissing. We are a young couple, courting for over a season, and we are both adults. That's not snogging, that's showing affection towards one another." He brushed his fingers along her cheek. "I don't want you feeling pressured-"

"I'm not; I do want to try it, but I don't know... it just seems so intimate, is all."

His brows furrowed slightly. "I can tell you're worried about something else. What's wrong, Flora?"

She hesitated, licking at her lips. "Well... as you know, I never was really payed much attention to back in London, romantically speaking. But if I was ever spending time with the few people I called friends, I would hear them gossip about things, about people they knew." She sighed heavily. "I'm not one for judgment or prejudice and some of the things they said... I'm just worried that we could be judged, or that we might be seen as moving too fast. I don't want that."

"From whom?"

"Other fairies, Queen Clarion and Lord Milori. Even the other Ministers."

He then sighed. "Remember what I had also said; fairies don't gossip.  _Especially_  the Ministers or the Queen or Milori. Private matters are meant to be kept as such; private. Unless they threaten the safety of another, there is no reason to bring it into light or talk of it to another fairy or sparrow man."

She snapped her fingers and then pointed. "That's it right there; back home in London, gossiping about people or events was always a constant. There was a sense of privacy and  _some_  people knew when to keep their mouths shut. But then there was the common man or woman who can't resist the urge to spread a rumour or gossip about someone." She gestured around them. "Here, that doesn't seem to be existent. A lot of things here are non-existent compared to back home. In London, war is rampant, murder and thievery throughout the streets, families losing their loved ones, equality is almost a foreign word to humans. Here in Neverland, in Pixie Hollow, there's more respect, less judgment or prejudice, less hostility, less fear, less... hatred, in a sense. It's almost the definition of peaceful. And that's something that my world never seemed to have. That, or it's something that never wanted to come to me."

As she continued to explain these things to him, all that Redleaf could do was shake his head in disbelief. Whenever he and his fairies went to the Mainland to deliver Autumn, he viewed it as something beautiful and something peaceful. He never would've thought that so many horrible things would be happening there, and he never would've thought such atrocities would happen to such a bright young woman. He never realized that there was so much more to human culture.

"The more I stay here," she said, "the more I realize how horrible my home really was. All of the things that happened around me, the things I experienced there, it never truly effected me as it was something that was just  _there_  and you couldn't do anything to change it. The more I stay here, the less I desire to go back. But the memories... they still haunt me, in a way. Much like a ghost, only, the ghosts are the memories you keep and the imprints that the people in your life leave behind."

He was at a loss for words, in shock of what he was told. Flora then just shrugged her shoulders.

He finally let out a shaky breath. "I don't understand..."

"Understand what?"

Redleaf took a deep breath, regaining whatever composure he could. "I don't understand how you were able to live like that. So accepting of everything, letting those things just slip away as if they were nothing. If I had been living on the Mainland, so completely aware of the horrible things around me, I wouldn't be able to live like that, knowing I couldn't do anything to try and fix it. To be able to live so fully, following your passions the way you did, it truly takes a strong individual to do that."

Flora turned her head away, a small blush on her cheeks. "I-I'm not strong..."

He grasped her chin, turning her head back to face him. "Flora, you  _are_  strong! Only a fool would say differently! You have gone through so much pain, you have suffered loss and betrayal. You have gone through what nobody should ever go through. And yet, through all that you have endured, through all that you've seen and heard, all that ever came from it was love, kindness, compassion, and a caring heart. That takes strength, Flora. Don't you  _ever_  let anyone tell you otherwise!"

Once again, Flora was shocked by his sudden burst of emotion. Although this was not the first time he had clearly voiced how upset he was over how Flora was treated and the things she went through, this was his most touching speech. Her heart, if it wasn't already, was moved.

Her lip quivered and her eyes watered. She swallowed the lump in her throat and attempted to stifle a whimper. "You're such a sappy romantic dork..." She attempted to laugh but it came out more like a sob. "You realize that, right?"

Redleaf pulled her in for a tight embrace, softly kissing her forehead. "I do try..." He whispered.

They stayed like that, then, holding each other wordlessly until their bodies relaxed against the bed, their eyes fluttered closed, their breaths slowed. Then, peaceful sleep.


	15. How To Train Your Fairy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of training for the fairies, and things don't go quite as planned. Also, they all get new nicknames.

Flora yawned again for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, blinking several times to rid the water from her eyes.

"Was I not that comfortable to sleep on, Flora?" Redleaf joked.

She rubbed at her eyes. "No, it's not that. It was the sudden and rude awakening that's making me feel more tired. That and, of course, the rain this morning."

Hawthorn spun around to face them, flying backwards for a brief moment. "Hey, when I was living back with the other Dark Fairies, we were lucky if they even knocked. Don't complain too much."

Redleaf and Flora rolled their eyes as she turned back around. They had both been peacefully resting early that morning, their eyes closed but just awake enough to hear when Hawthorn had decided to come knocking (more like slamming) on their door, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Get up, you two!"

The village was alive with activity and movement, Dark Fairies flying in the sky or walking on the ground, all going about whatever business they needed to. The children were not running around like they were the previous evening, probably due to it being so early in the morning. They were most likely resting, yet.

Hawthorn lead them through the village, and then outside of it. Leading them through the forest, far beyond the village borders.

"Why are we all the way out here?" Flora asked, pushing a branch out and away from her face.

"Training day." Hawthorn replied. "The grounds are placed further from the village, and with good reason."

Redleaf furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes speculatively. "And what reason would that be?"

She said nothing and only continued to fly through the forest, occasionally stopping in the air to make sure they didn't fall behind. Because of the rain, Redleaf's wings were already almost soaked through, rendering him unable to fly. Upon Hawthorn's suggestion, Flora did his hair up into a braid, keeping it from falling in front of his face.

They soon were in a massive clearing where there was a small slope, and in the center of the clearing and at the bottom of the slope was a large dome, large enough to cage in at least half of Pixie Hollow. The top sphere looked to be made from dried vines, creating almost a large net. There looked to be some sort of metal binding the vines together, keeping it from falling in on itself as well as keeping the vines from breaking apart. A wall of thorns surrounded the lower part of the dome. It looked to be almost like a battle arena of sorts.

"Welcome to the training grounds. It took us Crows nearly three decades to get this all made, but it's served us well for nearly a century."

"Why is it so large, though?" Flora asked.

"You'll see." She suddenly stopped flying and turned around. "Now, your friends are all at the entrance to the grounds. Just go to them and wait there."

Before either of them could say anything, she was gone.

Flora tsked. "Dark Fairies can be rather cryptic, can't they."

"Indeed..."

They did as they were instructed, walking down the slope until they reached the entrance to the grounds, where Hyacinth, Lord Milori and Queen Clarion were all waiting.

Hyacinth was looking as miserable as he ever could possibly look. He was still wearing his overcoat, so the rain was simply slipping off of that and keeping him dry. His hair, however, was a different story. He shook his head, shaking the water from his hair. "Of all the days..." He muttered. Lord Milori and Queen Clarion both still had their usual attire, but Clarion had her hair up as well in its usual bun.

Flora waved her hand. "Hello!" She called. "Fancy meeting you all here."

She saw Hyacinth roll his eyes. "Too early?" She asked.

None of them responded and she pursed her lips. "Cheerful group today, aren't we?" She mumbled.

"Did that Dark Fairy tell you what was going on? The others refused to tell us anything."

Redleaf shook his head. "Not a word out of Hawthorn, either."

"Because I told them not to say anything." A thick Scottish voice said.

They all looked up to see a Dark Fairy landing just a couple of feet away from them. He was a very rugged looking Fairy, his wings had mixes of brown and grey, creating almost a gradient. They were in very good condition, though, compared to most of the Dark Fairy wings they saw; no patches of skin or bone could be seen. The horns on his wings looked almost dull, however. His hair was a deep grey, slicked back with a few locks hanging in front of his eyes. He had a well-chiseled face and he was very bulky, sporting only a single scar on his neck. He wore a deep brown long-sleeved shirt with a black fur scarf hanging around his neck. "The name's Wolfgang. Lilith had entrusted me to train you."

"'Wolfgang'?" Milori asked.

The Dark Fairy chuckled. "Yes, 'Wolfgang'. I was a soldier as well as a trainer back when I still served under my former master. I was originally called Killbane. But when I joined the Crows, they changed my name to Wolfgang, in honour of defending the village from an Alpha wolf."

Flora's eyebrows raised. "How'd you manage that?"

He started to approach the grounds, walking past the group of fairies. "Simple; I drowned it in the swamps. The vines and algae in the water weighed it down."

Flora looked to Milori, who raised an eyebrow at her. "Drowning seems to be the only way to get rid of them, I suppose, eh?" She said to Wolfgang.

He pulled a lever beside a door. "Only with the Alphas. They're a lot tougher, hence why they're the leader of the pack in the first place." He then turned to face her. "You talk like you know it as a fact. Don't tell me you had to fight a wolf, once?"

Flora shrugged and crossed her arms. "Not alone, I didn't."

Wolfgang raised an eyebrow. "Another story for another time, I suppose." He turned back to the door and pushed it open. "For now, we begin your first day of training."

"What for, though?" Hyacinth asked, once again shaking the rain from his hair.

Wolfgang gestured for them to walk into the dome. The ground was wet from the rain, making it muddy and almost slippery. There were a few objects laying or standing on the ground; a log, a few mushrooms, boulders, and there was one single hole off to the side. The ground was also littered with smaller stones, a few twigs and some stray vines. Once inside, he closed the door behind them. "When you're facing my former master, you'll be up against several different creatures. These ones you're up against are not controlled by Dark Fairies, so they are not quite as difficult to fight. But they're more than enough for you to at least get a little taste of what it'll be like."

They all suddenly felt a surge of panic. "None of us were scouts, though!" Hyacinth exclaimed. "Flora is the only one who has experience with scouting."

Wolfgang sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fairies like you are given a certain talent when you arrive at Pixie Hollow, yes, and they also cannot switch said talent. But they can be taught it, much like how you're taught to fly. They won't be masters at what they're taught, but they can at least understand the basics and possibly even the advanced techniques." He then pointed to Clarion. "She'll probably be the fastest learner out of all of you, depending on what your talents were of course."

Clarion tilted her head to the side. "What sort of talents could make us a faster learner, if I might ask?"

The Dark Fairy shrugged. "Scout talents make you a pure natural, of course. Animal talents can help you to at least understand creatures so it can help you learn the best techniques against them. Fast flying talents can evade quickly, so they'll have time to plan. Other than that, no other talent could really help you."

They all looked between one another, almost uncertain of themselves. Flora noticed the concerned look that Milori had on his face, so she stepped forward and said, "Uh, if I might say so, maybe its best if Clarion sits this one out?"

Wolfgang raised an eyebrow. "Training is very important, Flora. I don't think there's any reason for Glimmer to sit out-"

"Look, her wings are very bright and she'll be an easy target. I don't want her to get hurt. Just, give us a day to figure something out to cover her wings properly, let her just watch this one session for today."

Wolfgang considered this for a moment. Clarion's wings did stand out a fair amount; to a hawk, that's like a beacon in the middle of the ocean. They had an alchemy-talent Fairy in the village so they would be able to figure out a way to possibly change the look or colour of her wings. He also considered how she was royalty and probably didn't interact too much with creatures and the like, so if she sat this one out then she'd be able to watch and see how things were done before she herself jumped into the fray. He nodded his head. "Alright then. Tomorrow she joins in, though." He pointed to the exit. "Alright, there's an upper deck outside of the dome where you can spectate without getting hurt. Be sure to close the door on the way out."

Clarion nodded. Milori quickly whispered to her, "I'll be fine."

She let out a quiet breath and smiled. "I know."

She calmly walked out from the dome, closing the door behind her. Wolfgang clicked his tongue to capture their attention. "Good, now with that out of the way."

He flew over to the farthest end of the dome, landing in front of a series of doors that lined the thorny wall. The doors were also made from metal and they were barred with metal planks. They all walked over to where he stood.

He started from the largest door and walked down the line. "We managed to catch these creatures thanks to the help of fighter and animal talents. So, first we have your standard wolf-"

He jumped back as the door was slammed into and the creature inside snarled. He heaved a deep breath. "Stupid creatures." He muttered. Wolfgang continued to walk down the line of doors. "Then you have your feral mountain lion," He patted the next door. "Then your wasp swarm, a venomous snake," he put his hand on the last lever which was beside the last door. "And, of course, your standard hawk."

Hyacinth visibly blanched, looking as if he were about to vomit. "Hold on a moment, we can't fly, how are we to escape a hawk?! Aren't you going to teach us anything?"

"Why do you think I made your first day of training out in the rain?" Wolfgang chuckled. "It's hardly even a juvenile hawk, so we need to make this as difficult as possible. So, all you can really do is run. And that, you can easily teach yourselves."

"Won't it attack you, though?" He then asked.

Wolfgang laughed. "I'm a Dark Fairy; creatures don't attack us unless we make it attack us or if it's controlled."

He pulled on the lever.

Almost immediately the hawk burst out from behind the doors, screeching and stretching out its talons. Hyacinth, Flora, Milori and Redleaf all scattered across the dome, briefly confusing the young hawk.

"Hawks are incredibly fast when going to capture their prey. The most important thing you need to remember about hawks is if it catches you, you're hawk meat."

The hawk slammed into the wall of thorns, screeching in pain. It quickly situated itself, attempting to shake the dizziness from its head.

Wolfgang shouted, "Quick, what's one of the first things you should do?"

Redleaf shouted back. "Run!"

Flora shook her head. "No, we need to hide and find a shelter!"

Wolfgang nodded. "Yes, exactly; now go!"

Immediately, they all went and hid under or behind an object in the dome. Redleaf hid under the log and Flora chose a nearby mushroom, hiding underneath the cap. Milori dashed for the hole by the wall, diving into it.

Hyacinth had attempted to go for the other mushroom, but in his adrenaline-fueled state, he ended up slipping across the muddy ground, attracting the hawk's attention. It squawked and cocked its head, slowly approaching the downed fairy. Hyacinth turned onto his back and then stayed perfectly still, not wanting to upset or provoke the creature.

The hawk leaned down towards Hyacinth, its beak nearly touching his chest. The Minister of Spring tried his best not to panic, lest he end up getting eaten.

The young hawk was confused. First the little bug was running away and now it appeared dead. Where did the other bugs go? Maybe they'd be a better meal.

It heard a sharp whistle and its attention was drawn to Flora, who had run out from underneath her mushroom. She waved her arms in the air. "Oy, over here!"

The hawk, now distracted, did not see as Hyacinth ran under the mushroom he had originally intended to hide behind. Seeing fresh prey, it screeched and spread its wings, ready to strike.

Suddenly something hit the back of its head, making it squawk in confusion. It turned its head to see Milori, out from his hiding spot, waving his cloak to further grab its attention. "Am I perhaps more suitable for your tastes?"

Wolfgang nodded at the two. "Yes, teamwork is key when fighting against hawks; confuse them enough, you might actually get a fighting chance."

Milori glared at the Dark Fairy, annoyed with the 'late advice' he was giving.

The hawk, seeing its prey distracted, flew up into the air and swooped down, talons outstretched and ready to grab at him. Unbeknownst to the hawk, however, the Lord of Winter was well prepared for the attack. Just as the hawk was about to grab him, he ducked out of the way and waved his cloak of feathers up into its talons. The hawk's claws were caught in the tightly-sewn material, causing it to become distracted and land into the wall of thorns, once again. Squawking in frustration, it attempted to pull the cloak off of its claws with its beak, standing only on one foot.

"You might want to take this opportunity." Wolfgang called out.

Redleaf and Hyacinth both ran out from their hiding spots, each grabbing a stone. Not seeing what the other was doing, they both threw their stone at the hawk.

Redleaf's stone managed to hit the hawk on its neck and Hyacinth's had flown past its face. They both looked at each other. "I thought I had that?" Redleaf said.

"Well, I didn't see you. You're not the only one trying to survive this hawk, either!"

"Tall Boy, Flowers, you best pay attention!"

They both looked to glare at the dark fairy, but a screeching hawk blocked their view. They immediately ran in opposite directions, away from the swooping hawk. It, once again, became confused and tried to stop itself, but only succeeded in tripping over the boulder.

Wolfgang shouted, "If that were an adult hawk, you'd both be dead." He beckoned the two sparrow men towards him. "You're out."

They both snapped their heads at him. "What?"

"An adult hawk would've caught the both of you by the time you noticed it was there. You're practically dead. Now get over here before you actually  _are_  dead."

They both ran over to the Dark Fairy before the hawk managed to get itself situated, leaving Flora and Milori to fight against it. "What do we do with this thing?" He asked her. "I don't normally fight hawks."

She shrugged helplessly. "It's just the two of us; I'm not used to this either. I'm used to a larger team." She sighed. "Just use whatever you can; make it angry. Getting it angry will make it frustrated and if a hawk gets frustrated enough, it'll quit! I'll try to hit it with whatever I can."

The hawk hopped onto the top of the boulder and squalled at them, taking off into the air and swooping back down. "Scatter!" She told him.

They took off in opposite directions, but this time the hawk knew which one it wanted to grab; the one that was the brightest. It turned and chased after Milori, keen on catching its meal.

"You know, there aren't any rules when it comes to fighting creatures," Wolfgang informed them, "as creatures don't have any rules when attacking you. Feel free to use whatever you can  _other_  than the objects around you."

Milori immediately got an idea; because of the rain, the ground was extremely wet and muddy, there were even puddles forming on the ground. Picking up speed (while also trying not to slip and mess up), he turned himself into the skid and grazed his fingers along the ground, leaving a thick trail of frost behind him. Because the ground was wet, the frost turned into a thin sheet of ice. As he approached the thorn wall, he dug his feet into the ground, putting him into a complete stop. He watched with a satisfied smile as the hawk attempted to land but only succeeded in sliding on the ice. The hawk let out a confused squawk and slipped onto its belly, sliding directly into the wall of thorns.

"Well done, Frostbite!" Wolfgang complimented. "You have the right idea. But you probably just made it angry, more than anything."

And angry it was. The hawk pushed out from the wall of thorns, shaking its head and screeching in pain. Milori quickly dashed away before the hawk fully regained its composure. "That's the plan!" He shouted in response.

"A stupid one, at that."

The hawk, now completely agitated, twitched its head to Milori. It spread its wings out and released an ear-piercing shriek. Just as it started to run, a large rock hit it on its skull, making it fall once again.

Flora, while Milori had been distracting it, had made slings from the vines and stones laying around. She had been waiting for the right time to throw the first one. "Pick on someone your own size, you bag of feathers!" She yelled at the massive bird, readying another sling.

The hawk appeared completely dazed, almost unable to pick itself up from the ground. Immediately, Wolfgang flew in and stood on top of the hawk's head, gently stroking its feathers. "I think you've done enough damage, Freckles." He said. "Good job."

Redleaf released the breath he had been holding. He never really watched Flora actually do her job as a scout. Of course, back in Pixie Hollow, he wouldn't ever run out into the open whenever there was a hawk attack just to watch her, but seeing her fight the hawk had made him nervous beyond belief. Hyacinth gave him a nudge. "She's fine, Redleaf. She knows what she's doing."

"I know." He replied.

Wolfgang sprinkled some dark dust over the hawks' eyes, and its breathing slowed and it stopped in its attempts to pick itself up. "Viper will be putting it back in the cage." He hopped down from the hawk and gave it a pat on its head. "Normally, we would keep going until it quit." He beckoned the two Ministers over. "But Freckles, here, looked about ready to hit it again with another sling. It takes a long time to replace a creature, so I decided to call it in early."

Flora wiped her hair back, spitting the rain that dripped onto her lips. "I wasn't about to kill it; I don't do that. Maybe just hit its wing or something."

He shrugged. "Regardless, I'm calling it in."

Wolfgang crossed his arms and looked between the group, addressing each of them. "You all did well, but one thing you need to remember is teamwork. Look around to make sure someone else isn't attempting another thing. Problems like what happened with Tall Boy and Flowers over here," he pointed to the Ministers, "will arise more easily that way."

"'Flowers', 'Tall Boy'?" Flora asked.

"Everyone is given new nicknames under the Crows. When I was living with the other Dark Fairies, we were only called by our given names. Don't complain too much."

"'Flowers'?" She asked again.

"He looks like a floral kind of guy." He explained. "Now, tomorrow we're moving on to a snake. As a warning; snakes are dangerous, cunning and swift, so all you need to be is smarter and faster. Now go on, do whatever you need or want to." An afterthought then struck him. "Oh, and Frostbite, be sure to take Glimmer with you to visit Dusty, our magician. She'll help with her wing problem. And yours, if you let her."

Before they all, almost too eagerly, left the dome, Milori quickly grabbed his cloak from where the hawk had torn it off its claws. He sighed in annoyance at the shredded feathers. He didn't bother with putting it back on and followed the rest of the group out.

Hyacinth nearly slipped on the mud again, but he caught himself. "Not the most graceful, are you, 'Flowers'?" Flora joked.

"Oh hush, 'Freckles'." He jabbed back.

Clarion was waiting on the other side of the door, immediately pulling Milori into a fierce hug. "You have no idea what I was going through up there." She told him.

"Well, I wasn't eaten." He smirked, receiving a light smack on his arm. Clarion turned her attention to Flora. "I do appreciate your concern for me, Flora-"

"It wasn't for me, it was for Milori. He was worried and I didn't want him getting hurt or eaten because he was distracted." She interrupted.

"Be that as it may, but I am unsure if you're aware that I had been a scout before I was Queen."

" _You_  were a scout?"

Clarion nodded her head and smiled. "Yes. I was a scout before I was a Minister, and a Minister before I was Queen. I can handle a hawk or two."

Flora stared at the Queen in disbelief. For such a calm and collected woman, she never would've expected Clarion to be a scout-talent of all things! Flora would've expected her to be more of a flower-talent or possibly even a water-talent fairy. Something more calm and serene. But  _never_  a scout-talent. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh."

Hyacinth shook his head and sighed in disgust. "If it's all the same to you, I would rather we head back to the village instead of diddling about in the rain. I don't wish to catch a cold."

/ / /

Flora immediately flopped herself onto the bed, groaning obnoxiously into the sheets. Redleaf raised his eyebrow and smirked. "What's wrong, little flower?"

She groaned again and turned her head to the side. "I have never been so sore in my life... here I am, a scout, who has run from a pack of hawks, challenged a pack of wolves, and outran a snake, sore from head-to-toe after dodging about in a dome from a juvenile hawk. Something is wrong with me..."

Redleaf squeezed at his braid, making the rain drip out from his hair. "There is nothing wrong with you, Flora. You're just stressed."

She sat up on the bed and crossed her legs, holding her feet with her hands. "And what makes you say that?"

"First of all," he started, "you have had a lot of pressure placed on your shoulders. Secondly, you haven't had a proper rest since the wolves attacked the Winter Woods; you've been able to sleep, but you haven't been able to relax. And thirdly..."

He walked over and sat beside Flora. "You fought against a hawk in the rain and on muddy ground. That on its own could make anyone stressed."

She sighed and pursed her lips. She never liked admitting much of anything to anyone when it came to pain, stress, exhaustion or anything of the like. However, this was slightly different as she didn't have any scouting duties to perform, which would usually influence her to lie and toss off anything that either the nurses or Redleaf would say. "Well, what would you recommend, then?" She asked.

"A bath."

She snorted. "I think the rain gave me enough of one."

He shook his head. "No, an actual  _bath_ , Flora. A warm one in a tub. You need to relax, treat yourself to some sweets and nectar, and take time for yourself."

"Do they even have tubs here? And where would I get the sweets  _or_  the nectar? I doubt that Dark Fairies have those as refreshments or food here."

Redleaf pointed to the upper floor. "There's a lovely deck on the outside of the second floor. It's got a canopy over it and it has a tub. It's always heated, due to there being hot coals under it."

Flora tilted her head off to the side. "How do you know all this?"

"When we were walking back to the village, I had heard Hyacinth muttering something about taking a bath. Upon asking he said that he had asked the Dark Fairy aiding him about baths. He needed to relax, as he said. Each residence has at least one tub on the outside."

"How does the water stay heated? And what about after one has had a bath?"

"They have some sort of drain to release the water. However, Hyacinth doesn't know how the tub refills itself."

"Maybe a bath-drawing fairy?"

"Perhaps."

She furrowed her brows. "Alright, so I know about the tub. But what about the sweets and the nectar?"

Redleaf gave her a roguish grin, tapping her lightly on her nose. "That, my dear, is my little secret."

"You brought some along, didn't you?"

He just kept on grinning.

Flora rolled her eyes. "Alright, then, you keep your 'secret'. I am going to take a bath."

She then stood from the bed and walked over to her satchel, digging out her bathing clothes. She was never comfortable to bathe completely naked; she didn't know why, but she would always wear something to keep her at least half-decent if she needed to quickly hop out of the tub, for whatever reason. She then walked up the stairs to the second floor and, sure enough, there was a door leading out to a deck. She could already see the steam rising from the water.

She took a breath and smiled. She had taken baths back in Pixie Hollow, but those were purely hygienic. She never actually took a bath simply for the sake of a good soak. She was excited to finally take some time for herself.

Once she was out on the deck, she stripped out of her wet clothing, placing them over the edge of a chair that was also out on the deck, and replaced her undergarments with her bath-wear. The tub was made out of a metal, most likely silver or another similarly-coloured metal, considering iron burned Dark Fairies. It was large enough to fit a fully-grown fairy.

She stepped into the tub, sighing contentedly as the hot water hit her chilled skin. She slid straight into the water, draping her arms over the edge of the tub. Flora closed her eyes and leaned her head back, a small smile on her lips. "This is nice..." She said to herself.

Shortly after she became situated in the tub, a soft knock came at the door leading back into the house. She opened her eyes and looked to see Redleaf coming out onto the deck, a small plate in one hand and an acorn cup in the other. "Chocolate and nectar." He said.

"How did you manage to sneak the nectar along?" She asked.

"I have my own stash, you know." He replied.

Nectar was not the liquid juice that bees made. Nectar was actually a drink; Pixie Hollow's version of wine. It was made from different juices of fruits, a small dash of honey and, of course, actual nectar. The nectar was then set in a cool area for a few seasons to age properly. The sugars in the nectar would mix in with the fruit juices and create an almost alcoholic-type beverage. Of course, fairies never got drunk on it. They drank it in moderation.

"Whatever for?"

"Whenever I happen to get stressed."

She tilted her head off to the side, furrowing her brows. "You don't seem the type to become stressed. You're very calm."

He pulled up a small table and set it alongside the tub, setting the plate and cup atop it. "Even a calm Minister can become stressed."

Flora grabbed a small piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth, letting out a small moan as a ghost of a smile spread across her lips. "Dark chocolate and nectar; a very bittersweet combination. I like it."

Redleaf smiled in return and gave her a small bow. "I shall leave you to your bath, then."

"I rather prefer your company than being alone." She quickly said. "I'm in a bathing suit, I'm not indecent."

"But you are a lady."

She made a face. "I run around in pants and not a skirt or dress; I fight hawks and snakes and I sometimes have a bad mouth. I hardly call myself a lady."

"But you are a woman."

She made another face and crossed her arms over the edge of the tub. "The baths in Pixie Hollow are fairly communal, Red. Yes, fairies and sparrow men are separated but here I am in clothes. And, as you said, we are both adults. We can be mature about this."

Redleaf sighed and rolled his eyes. He then pulled up a stool and sat beside the tub, crossing his one leg and folding his hands. "What is it that has you so concerned that you wish for me to be here?"

Flora shrugged, taking another piece of chocolate. "Perhaps some light conversation is all I need."

He made a face of his own. "It's just me, Flora."

She hesitated, her smile turning into a frown. "I just don't like being alone here, is all. The Dark Fairies here are trustworthy, but you never know what could happen."

"I am here to protect you if need be, Flora. You know that, right?"

She shook her head. "It's not that, it's just... there's this unknown Dark Fairy that could very easily be watching us. It could just be paranoia, but I feel as if whenever I'm alone here, there's always someone watching me."

He understood what she was feeling wholeheartedly. Ever since he found out about this Dark Fairy, an unknown name or gender, who wants to use Flora as some sort of weapon, he has always been getting these chills up his spine, or the feeling of eyes being on him whenever his back is turned. "We're all a little paranoid, Flora," he reasoned, "it's a natural feeling, especially with the circumstances we're in now. But I assure you, as long as I'm here, nothing will happen to you." He placed his hand over hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I promise you that."

Flora put her other hand over his and returned the squeeze. "As long as it does not put you in mortal danger."

"You keep putting yourself in those situations, so I doubt that is a viable option."

She tsked and rolled her eyes. "You know very well what I mean, Red."

He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "I was joking, little flower. Although you do seem to get in situations that end up with you getting hurt."

She shrugged helplessly. "All part of the job, I suppose."

He laughed and pressed his forehead to hers. "Just, don't push yourself. You have limits."

"And I stay within them. And if I step over those limits, I know you'll always be there to pull me back. And if you step over yours, I'll be there to pull  _you_  back. That is my promise."

They squeezed each other's hands once again, reassuring each other that their promises said would be kept. There was no doubt that they would be thrown into dangerous, even life-threatening situations. But they knew they would always be there for each other, no matter what happened. And if they were forced to remain apart, they would still fight to the very end to keep each other safe, to protect each other. They didn't know what the next day would bring them, but they knew that they would take it on together.


	16. Endurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training is soon interrupted by the Crows' leader, Lilith, after a threat was seen looming around the border of the Crows' village. Their training advances and, as a result, one of them ends up getting injured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have about 23 chapters of this on FFN but I keep forgetting to add them here when I'm finished! I'm so sorry about that!

Flora quickly ran around the corner, nearly tripping over her own feet and skidding ahead a few paces. It followed almost directly behind her, hissing and exposing its razor sharp fangs. She didn't dare look back; looking back could easily result in her losing her footing.

She rounded another corner, briefly losing the vicious snake. She suddenly ran into Clarion, nearly pushing her over. Flora grabbed her arm to steady her. "No luck in finding the exit?"

"I'm afraid not." Clarion replied.

They heard the hissing of the snake and they ran in opposite directions, hoping to confuse the massive creature.

Wolfgang watched from the upper level of the inside of the dome, resting his elbow on the railing and his head in his hand. He watched as the fairies would dodge from the snakes, duck into hiding spots, run into dead ends and into each other. They had each been provided with one sling, in case things went awry. But he said to only use them as a last resort. The heat of the day wasn't helping any of them, he could already see Milori tiring out, considering he was a Winter fairy. "Wherever you find a snake," he called to them, "that is there home! They will know every nook, cranny and hiding hole possible. They will be able to outrun you and outsmart you if you do not learn the area you're in. These snakes know this maze better than even I do, and that says something! All you need to worry about is being faster, smarter and, of course, not panicking. Find the exit, and you'll be fine."

Redleaf huffed and rolled his eyes, raising his arms in the air in exasperation. He then heard someone hiss out his name. "Redleaf!"

He looked to see Hyacinth and Milori kneeling down at the edge of a wall at intersecting corridors, and Hyacinth was motioning for him to do the same. Since he had been an animal-talent fairy before he was a Minister, Redleaf thought it was best to listen to the Minister of Spring. He knelt down behind Milori and he tapped him on his shoulder. "What's going on?"

Milori put a finger to his lips in a shushing manner and mouthed to him,  _'Watch Hyacinth.'_.

Hyacinth peeked around the corner and carefully observed the snake. It's head was pointed forward, its forked tongue flicking out and smelling the earth below it. They hadn't ran along that corridor yet, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Hyacinth quickly dashed across the intersection, holding up his hand and then checking to make sure the snake hadn't seen him.

A small  _thud_  was heard and the snake's head turned in the opposite direction. Hyacinth motioned for them to cross, with urgency. Milori ran across and past Hyacinth. Redleaf followed suit.

He hadn't noticed the rock that was protruding from the ground, most likely unearthed due to the rain the previous day, and he tripped over it, landing on the hardened ground and his breath leaving his lungs with a  _whoosh_. Both Hyacinth and Milori grimaced, silently hoping the snake hadn't heard.

Its head snapped back and it saw the downed fairy. It reared its head and hissed, immediately slithering towards what it considered as its next meal. Redleaf picked himself up and flew down the corridor in the opposite direction of the massive creature.

Wolfgang shouted to the Minister, "A snake, depending on the breed and type, can have exceptional hearing, smell and sight; even if you didn't fall, it still would've heard you tripping over the rock!"

He desperately wanted to snap at the Dark Fairy, but he decided it was best to hold his tongue. Instead, he focused on evading the snake, weaving between corridor after corridor, hoping to lose it at least for a second.

Suddenly, both Clarion and Flora ran out and around the corner ahead of him, all three crashing into each other and tumbling to the ground. Redleaf groaned, rubbing at the back of his head. "What happened to 'staying separated'?" He hissed, sitting himself up.

"We kept running into each other. Quite literally. We have a snake chasing us so we tried to lose it."

"So did I..." Redleaf's blood ran cold and his head darted back to where he came from. The corridor was empty. "If we turn down this way, we might be able to make it to that intersection I just flew past before the snake catches up to us."

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Flora exclaimed.

They all raced back towards the intersection, just barely escaping the snake that was behind them. It crashed into the wall and it shook its head, attempting to rid itself of the dizziness.

"You might want to bolt!" Wolfgang yelled.

The snake that had been chasing Redleaf turned around the corner, hissing in annoyance and baring its venomous fangs. The group of three stopped and went to turn around, but stopped again as the second snake slithered down the corridor towards them.

"Well, that's just splendid!" Flora growled, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"There might be something to help you out of there," Wolfgang said, "if you're small enough. Or you could risk death and use your slings."

"What is that supposed to mean? 'If you're small enough'?" Flora hissed under her breath.

Clarion placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed down. "I think he may mean that."

Flora looked down to see a hole in the ground, directly underneath the wall that separated the two corridors. "Oh, thank goodness!"

Flora pushed down onto Redleaf's shoulders. "Fold down your wings and get under there!" She snapped at him.

"You should go first! You're the smallest!" He exclaimed.

Flora made a face at him. "You want to argue that with the snakes?"

Redleaf looked between the two impending snakes. Defeated, he sighed and rolled his eyes and got onto his knees, crawling into the hole and making sure to fold his wings down so they wouldn't rip.

Flora stood back and gestured with her hand. "After you."

Clarion nodded her head and followed after Redleaf, fitting in a lot easier than he had. Flora stood in the corridor for a few more brief seconds, watching the two snakes as they barreled towards her, one rearing upward and exposing its fangs. "Love to stay and chat, but I'm certain you have your mouth full!"

And with that she dove into the hole and the two snakes, now confused, crashed into each other, the one baring its fangs biting into the dirt and the other snake pushing into its head. The two snakes struggled to untangle themselves from each other and their writhing bodies caused the walls around them to fall.

Flora pushed at the two fairies. "Go on, unless you want to get crushed!"

The walls continued to fall like dominoes, tipping another one over as they crashed into it. The two fairies were able to fly away from it all, but Flora wasn't able to run as quickly as they were able to fly. So, she took the initiative and jumped onto a tipping wall, using it to jump from one wall to another and towards the exit, where Milori and Hyacinth were already waiting.

"What are you doing?!" Redleaf shouted.

"Don't distract me!" She snapped back, jumping from one tumbling wall to the next. This wasn't unlike when she would jump across stones at the lake; the stones were usually small and sometimes she'd jump on a loose rock or even a log that had lodged itself in between stones under the water. It was her own personal game of hopscotch, as she never really enjoyed playing with the other kids.

Flora finally reached the last wall and she nearly fell forward, swinging her arms to balance herself. The walls had been built very tall, so jumping down wasn't an option lest she twist her bad ankle.

The wall she had jumped from crashed into the one she had been standing on, causing her to lose her balance and fall forward. " _Milori_!"

The Lord of Winter was prepared and he caught her before she hit the ground, nearly tumbling down under the sudden weight. He then quickly set her down and off to the side, seeing a snake barreling over the fallen walls and towards the group of fairies (and one human).

"Better think fast, Frostbite!" Wolfgang exclaimed.

Milori reached down to grab at his sling, only to find that it wasn't attached to his waist. He looked down in disbelief. "How did I lose it?!" He hissed.

"Heads up!"

He looked up and saw the snake rearing up, hissing and baring its fangs, just as it started to strike, Clarion flew in front of him and swung her arm, hitting the snake with her sling. The stone hit the side of its nose, making its head swayed off to the side. It hissed in pain and set itself back down, slowly slithering away from Clarion and Milori. It didn't like when it got hurt, so it decided to wait until the winged-things would come to feed it and its partner.

Wolfgang flew down from the viewing-level. "Well done, Glimmer." He complimented. "You've got quite the swing, you know, for royalty."

Clarion didn't respond to the Dark Fairy, instead checking up on Milori to make sure he was uninjured. The rest of the group appeared extremely exhausted, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down from their foreheads. "It's a good thing you visited Dusty as well; less glitter means less attention."

Clarion and Milori had both visited Dusty, as Wolfgang had suggested. The magician was able to whip up a spell to make Clarion's wings appear like a normal fairy's wings. According to Clarion, she had offered to help Milori with his own wings but he flatly refused. Flora decided against asking why, as she already had an idea as to why.

"You guys take a short break," Wolfgang said, "I need to put these snakes to sleep."

As soon as he was out of earshot, Hyacinth let out an obnoxious groan. "This is becoming absolutely ridiculous!"

Flora let out a deep breath, using part of her shirt to wipe at the sweat on her brow. "Speak for yourself; this can be quiet exciting for a scout!"

Redleaf laughed breathlessly. "'Exciting' is one way to put it."

"'Exciting' is the complete opposite of what it should be described as."

Someone landed directly in the middle of the group, a circle of dust surrounding where she landed. "This is an exercise that is meant to teach you about the dangers of creatures and the proper ways of evasion and attack."

Redleaf immediately flew over to Flora and landed beside her. Although she seemed friendly the first time they met the Dark Fairy, he still couldn't help but feel worried.

Lilith folded her wings and dusted herself off. "As much as this is important, I'm afraid that your creature training will have to be interrupted."

"What for, Lilith?"

Wolfgang had returned from putting the two snakes to sleep and he just managed to catch the tail-end of what Lilith had said. "We only just moved onto snakes and they barely got away from that. Whatever reason you think that training will have to wait, I'm sure that I can convince you otherwise."

She crossed her arms and turned on her heel, raising an eyebrow at the trainer. "Oh, can you, now?"

Wolfgang immediately became uncomfortable under her gaze. They were old friends, he and Lilith. He was the second Dark Fairy to leave, and she had been the one to convince him, which was nearly two centuries ago. Although they were friends and he knew almost everything about her, Lilith could still terrorize him without even trying. He cleared his throat. "Depending on the situation, of course..." He muttered.

Lilith rolled her eyes (or her eye, really) and turned back to face the other fairies. "The Dark Fairies already know that Flora is missing from Pixie Hollow." She told them. "We caught a scout just outside of the border of the village. If my former master is searching for the human, and around our village, the battle is coming a lot sooner than we thought. You all are  _immediately_  moving to combat training."

They all looked between one another, unsure if she was being serious or not. Flora finally managed to find her voice. "Fairies don't fight, though. Not anymore."

"But they used to. It was only three centuries ago that the war happened." Lilith gestured to the fairies around Flora. "They were all young when that had occurred, but they were there. The fighting and survival instinct is still within them, so I'll just have to put that instinct back in their minds."

"And what about me? I don't have any fighting instinct at all."

Lilith snorted. "A lie, obviously. You were a scout in Pixie Hollow, so you have that survival instinct. You also have excellent upper and lower body muscles, which tells me that you have been trained to fight, and not just hawks or snakes. Either you all go through with this, or you die along with Pixie Hollow. You decide."

Flora huffed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well... could you at least give us some time to discuss things?"

Lilith flew into the air. "You have until noon."

They all watched as she flew out of the top of the dome and back to the direction of the village, leaving them all there with their rushing thoughts.

Wolfgang sighed. "You might want to get on with whatever you people want to discuss. Lilith doesn't like to wait."

/ / /

"Fairies don't fight anymore, we never will again!"

"She is a mad Fairy, why should we trust her?"

"Why should we trust her at all, is the question."

Both Flora and Clarion just sat on their chairs as Milori, Redleaf and Hyacinth spoke among themselves, well, mainly over one another, but they didn't care much. Flora sighed and leaned over to Clarion. "As much as I hate to say this, you'll all have to learn to fight again."

"But why?" Clarion asked. "Milori cannot fly, Hyacinth had been... scarred by the war, and Redleaf doesn't believe in harming another breathing thing."

"And you?"

"I will always do what is best for everyone and what is needed to survive. But fighting against Dark Fairies?" The Queen shook her head. "That is something I hoped would never need to be done again. That war nearly destroyed all of Pixie Hollow."

Flora nodded her head in understanding. "Yes, I know what happened in the war; I've read the history texts. That's when Queen Natise had been killed and Lord Adrian had been captured. That's when you and Milori were appointed. But try and think of it in this way; if you are not taught to defend yourselves and to fight against whomever wants to bring you harm, you could die. That can result in another war, a war without the Rulers of Pixie Hollow to guide them."

Clarion had no other words to say. She knew Flora was right, but she didn't want to have to resort to such measures to defeat whomever was searching for Flora. She didn't want anyone to die, either. That's the very last thing she wanted. But if that meant that she, Milori, Hyacinth and Redleaf all had to learn to fight again, then she had to accept that.

Clarion exhaled sharply. "You're right."

The three sparrow men, much to Clarion's dismay, were still speaking over one another, their voices beginning to raise in volume. She didn't even bother to speak, as they would not hear her. Flora cleared her throat. "Let me handle this."

She got up from her seat and grabbed the acorn cup that rested on the table. She waited for a few moments, then, after seeing that they did not notice her standing up, threw the contents of the cup at the sparrow men, immediately stopping their strings of words. They all turned their heads to her, incredulous. "And what was that for?" Hyacinth demanded.

Flora shrugged and put the cup back down on the table. "You didn't even see me stand up. I needed to get your attention somehow."

"And what for?" Milori asked.

Clarion then stood from her seat, calmly folding her hands. "Upon some... convincing, from Flora, what Lilith had said is true."

Hyacinth was quick to react to her statement. "But, Your Majesty, fairies no longer have a need to fight, why should we start learning again?"

"Are the attacks on Pixie Hollow not enough for you, Minister?"

He stayed silent, then, placing his hands behind his back.

Redleaf looked to Flora, who was as calm as ever. "Flora, how are you so relaxed about this?" He asked her.

She shrugged. "I know how to fight; I was taught Karate back home in London. I haven't fought someone to hurt them, but I'll have to get over it. So will everyone else if we want to survive, along with Pixie Hollow."

"I don't enjoy hurting anything or anyone, Flora. Not after the war."

"There will be another one if we don't do this. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

He heaved a heavy sigh, pursing his lips in contemplation. After the war, Redleaf had sworn to himself that he would never harm another living thing, even in the case of saving his own life. He had seen too many things, he was almost haunted by the memories. But he would suffer worse ones if another war was waged on Pixie Hollow. Perhaps he could somehow work his way around having to fight. "Very well."

Flora smiled slightly. "We'll figure something out. You might work out as a strategist or something."

They all then looked expectantly at Milori, who only crossed his arms in an almost defiant manner. "I agree to do this, but that does not mean I trust them."

"You don't have to." She said. "All you have to do is trust me and trust yourself. You can manage that, yeah?"

"I will try."

A loud banging came to the door and they all flinched. "You better be ready!" Hawthorn shouted. "Lilith is waiting, and her patience is thin."

They all looked between another, exchanging nervous glances. Flora took a deep breath. "Well, we've been able to fight snakes and hawks; what could go wrong during a little bit of combat training?"

/ / /

Of course, there  _had_  to be plenty of things to go wrong during combat training! The very first thing that Lilith was making them do was an endurance test. And what better way to test their endurance than making them hang onto a horizontal pole several feet up in the air above a lake?

Flora and Clarion were perfectly fine with the height, as was Hyacinth and Redleaf. However, Milori was having a hard time getting himself situated on the platform. Upon asking, Clarion told Flora, "Unless flying on Anthros, he doesn't have a great love for heights."

Flora nodded. It made sense, considering he couldn't fly anymore.

Lilith hovered just in front of the platform. "Alright, so, welcome to day one. This, of course, isn't combat training but it is an essential part of it. This here is to test your endurance, to see how long you can last before you tire out. And to see if you can find alternatives while tiring out."

Flora shrugged her shoulders. "Should be easy."

Before Lilith could say anything else, Flora leaned forward in an attempt to reach the pole (well, it was a massively long stick, but still technically a pole). However, due to her height (or lack thereof), she could hardly even graze it with the tips of her fingers. She sighed in annoyance. "Great..."

Lilith positioned herself in the air to look like she was sitting on a chair. "This is especially good for you; you can't let your height get in the way of-"

Flora suddenly jumped out and grabbed the pole, briefly swinging back and forth until she squeezed her hands to stop the motion. She gave Lilith a cheeky smile. "I climbed a lot of trees; I know how to get to branches that are meant for the taller people."

Lilith shrugged her wings. "Alright, then." She pointed to the fairies still standing on the platform. "The rest of you; hop to it!"

Clarion was the next one to grab onto the pole, placing herself directly beside Flora. "You are not disturbed by the height?" She asked.

Flora shook her head. "A lot of people normally would, but I like heights. As long as there's something to break my fall, of course."

They both heard a small yelp and they looked to see Hyacinth had managed to make it out onto the pole. The Minister of Spring let out a nervous and breathless laugh, his knuckles almost immediately turning white from the pressure. "Oh, please, just let me make it through this..." He said under his breath.

Redleaf followed almost immediately after Hyacinth, placing himself on Flora's other side. He chuckled and gently bumped his hip against hers. "'What could go wrong', eh?"

She bumped him back. "Oh, hush!"

Lilith waited patiently for the last sparrow man to place himself out with the rest of his group, but she frowned as she watched him look precariously over the edge of the platform. She rolled her eyes and groaned in disgust. "Now, what seems to be the problem, Frostbite?"

He glared at the Dark Fairy as she placed herself on the platform beside him. "Nothing that concerns you. And that is  _not_  my name!" He seethed.

She snorted. "Everyone is given nicknames under the Crows. Frostbite suits you well. And it does concern me considering I'm you're teacher. If you're worried about falling, I can catch you before you hit the water."

Milori rolled his eyes and looked back out over the edge. "That is  _not_  what I'm worried about."

"Then get on out there."

Without warning, Lilith pushed at Milori's back with the bone of her wing. He gasped as he tipped forward, immediately grabbing onto the pole to prevent him from falling down. Flora suppressed a giggle as Milori glared at the Dark Fairy, who flew casually back in front of them. " _Don't_  do that..."

Lilith shrugged her wings. "You weren't getting out there any other way. Consider it as a favour." She suddenly pulled a small, pocket-sized book from her satchel and turned to a page. "Now, you five enjoy yourselves. I'll be right here if you need anything." The Dark Fairy snickered.

Redleaf was then the one to sigh in annoyance. "Splendid..."

Flora shifted her hand and bumped it against his. "Hey, on the bright side, you get to talk to me for a while." She joked.

Redleaf cracked a small smile. "I suppose that's true."

As the minutes passed (although for some it felt like hours), the heat of the sun started getting to the majority of them, primarily Milori. Flora let out a deep breath and looked over to the Winter fairy. There were visible signs of him tiring out; his arms were shaking horribly and were pale with the lack of blood flow. Sweat dripped from his brow and his face was contorted with a mix of pain and exhaustion. He was a strong sparrow man, both mentally and physically, but there was only so much he could take. It was an almost blistering hot day and with him being so used to the cold, as well as his initial fear of massive heights, he was tiring a lot quicker than most fairies would.

Lilith could see his struggle and she rolled her eyes and briefly slapped her book shut. "No shame in calling it quits, Frostbite."

Milori glared again at the Dark Fairy. Letting out a determined huff, he lifted himself up as best as he could and hooked his legs on the pole. Now hanging upside down, he let his arms hang, sighing as he felt the blood flow back into them.

Redleaf, Flora, Clarion and Hyacinth all spared the sparrow man a glance. Flora raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't know you knew that trick."

Hyacinth, who had also been growing tired, attempted to do the same trick. He grunted with effort, just barely managing to lift his legs up before his one hand slipped. He let out a yelp as he lost his grip, making the rest of the groups' eyes turn to him. He attempted to grab back onto the pole, but the sweat on his palms as well as the added weight onto his single hand, caused him to slip off completely. He let out yet another shout and managed to balance himself in the air, his wings fluttering almost sporadically.

Lilith cleared her throat, turning her attention back to her book. "Don't try things unless you know you can do them." She then pointed to the shoreline of the lake. "Plant it down there, Flowers."

As Hyacinth flew down to the shoreline (where he had simply collapsed onto the sand and sprawled himself out), Flora could hear Redleaf's wings flittering harshly. "What're you doing?"

He released a breath. "Trying to ease my weight; I'm heavier than you think."

Lilith licked her finger and flipped a page. "Good idea, Tall Boy. Don't tire your wings out, though."

The pole suddenly shook and everyone else saw that Milori had decided to hang back onto the pole with his hands again. Although the blood was back in his arms, he was still visibly tired from the heat. Clarion craned her neck to look at him. "Milori, please, don't overwork yourself."

"I'm fine, Clarion." He responded.

Flora suddenly realized something. Milori was a Winter fairy in the heat. His wing was already broken, but wouldn't they break further? And if a Winter fairy's temperature rises to a certain level, could they become sick or die? Flora gently nudged Clarion with her foot. "Is he going to be alright?" She asked. "With him being a Winter fairy and all?..."

"His wings won't break again, but he shouldn't be out in the heat for so long." Clarion explained. "He could easily come down with a fever or pass out from the heat."

"How long does a fever normally last? With humans they could last maybe for two weeks."

Clarion shrugged (as best as she could, of course). "Last time I remember a fairy having a fever, it lasted for half of a season. It can vary, of course. It all depends on how long a fairy is exposed to extreme temperatures."

Flora cringed. "Oh, dear..."

Suddenly Redleaf cried out, causing Flora, Clarion and Milori all to flinch and their heads to snap over to him. His knuckles were almost a pure white and yet he continued to squeeze the branch with all of the strength he could muster. His arms were trembling almost uncontrollably, as if he were having a form of a seizure. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth were clenched shut in pain. "What, what's wrong?!" Flora asked, her expression filling with dread.

Upon hearing him cry out a second time, Lilith pocketed her book and flew over to him. "What happened?" She demanded.

Redleaf didn't respond to her and he released a deep breath, an attempt at calming himself down. Lilith peered closer at his arm and she dared to touch it with her hand.

The Minister of Autumn flinched away and released a distressed sound, much like that of a trapped puppy's. "Oh, no..."

Flora shifted closer to him. "What's wrong with him?"

Lilith suddenly dashed down towards the shoreline where Hyacinth sat and, upon saying a few words, he flew towards the village. She then flew back up to them and she put an arm under Redleaf's legs. "Okay, Tall Boy, you're gonna have to let go."

He shook his head and continued to hang onto the pole, his arms still shaking. Flora immediately grew impatient and she snapped, "Would you bloody tell me what's wrong with him?!"

Lilith growled at the young human. "He somehow popped out his shoulder blade. Did you see him trying to do anything? Because I'm certain he couldn't have just been hanging here!"

Milori pulled himself up again and this time he sat himself on the pole, breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "He was trying to pull himself up..." He explained.

Lilith tsked and shook her head. "You should've listened to what I told Flowers!"

Flora kicked out at the Dark Fairy. "Hush up, you!" She pulled herself up on the pole as Milori had and sat herself on it. "He's strong, and I should know!"

Clarion released her grip on the pole and steadied herself in the air. "Could he have somehow tried lifting himself incorrectly?"

Lilith nodded. "Plausible, and most likely." She readjusted her one arm under his legs. "Either you let go, or I make you let go!"

Hyacinth soon arrived along with three other Dark Fairies along with Anthros and Missy, who chirped happily and flew up to Flora. Flora smiled and patted the jay along her crest. "Good to see you too, girl!"

"Frostbite, we need your bird to put Tall Boy on!"

Milori whispered something to his owl and he nodded, carefully situating himself underneath Redleaf. However, he still refused to let go, merely shaking his head in pain. "Hurts..."

"Has he ever hurt himself this badly, before?" One of the medical fairies asked. Flora immediately shook her head. "No, never! He hasn't hurt himself at all, in the time I've known him."

"Probably why he won't let go of this thing..."

Flora whistled to Hyacinth and beckoned him to come closer. "Carry me a minute, would you?"

He nodded sharply and put one arm under her legs and under her back. "Redleaf, love," she gestured her head to Redleaf and Hyacinth complied. "You'll have to let go."

Redleaf shook his head again. "Can't. Hurts too much..."

"Hyacinth, set me down on Anthros."

He carefully placed her down onto the Snowy owl, whom of which continued to hover in the air. Flora gently pulled up on the reins, making Anthros hover a bit higher until Redleaf was practically sitting on top of him. She turned her head to face him. "Someone  _gently_  put a hand on his shoulder and another on his arm."

The two medical fairies did as she said, although the one putting a hand on Redleaf's shoulder didn't do so as gently as she wanted. "Redleaf,  _let go_! It'll hurt for a moment but it's better than being stuck up here!"

Redleaf stayed still for a moment before releasing his grip on the pole, allowing for the doctors to help his arm to gently fall down to his side. He let out a small gasp of pain and then rested his head against her shoulder, using his good arm to hold onto her. "Just don't move it around too much, Red."

Missy flew up to Milori and warbled at him, turning her body off to the side. Unsure of himself, he slowly placed himself on the blue jay, grabbing at the reins and tugging at them. He was not used to such a small bird, so he didn't know how well he'd fly on her. "Do you have some sort of medical center?"

Lilith nodded and gestured with her arm. "Follow me, and make sure that Tall Boy doesn't fall off!"

/ / /

Flora gently stroked Missy's crest, who, although she was enjoying the attention, warbled sadly up at her rider. Flora sighed heavily. "It was just a popped shoulder blade, it can't be that bad!" She told the jay.

"Although I do hate to be a bearer of bad news," Hyacinth said, "the shoulder blade is located almost directly where the wings are. Although we cannot feel pain from our wings, if we damage the area around them, it can cause us to be in quite a fair amount of distress. Some records state that, if severe enough, some fairies could have a heart attack."

Flora rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Thank you, Hyacinth. You know what, you really need to work on your bedside manner..."

"Forgive me for saying anything, then."

Milori and Clarion had gone back to their own home as Milori had suddenly started to feel overheated. Clarion didn't want him to end up getting sick so she took him back to cool down his body temperature. Hyacinth had stayed behind with Flora to make sure she didn't worry herself to the point of blacking out. Hyacinth cleared his throat. "I know personally that Redleaf is a strong sparrow man. He can withstand a small shoulder injury."

As if on cue, Redleaf emerged from the hospital room he had been carried into, Flora immediately stood up from her seat and rushed over to him, pulling him to her in a tight embrace. "You had me worried sick!"

He rubbed her back. "I'm fine, just, don't squeeze me so tightly..."

Flora loosened her grip but didn't let go of him. "Don't try doing that again. Alright?"

This time he patted her back, a calming gesture but also one that was telling her to let go. "Yes, I won't. Now, if you could maybe stop squishing me, that would be splendid."

"You're squishable. Therefore, I shall continue to squish you until you promise me you won't go and try to pull off that stunt again."

Hyacinth cleared his throat but Flora still didn't let go. "I trust that you are better than what you were? Can you make it back to your home alright?"

Redleaf rolled his eyes. "My wings are sore, but that does not mean I can't walk. I'll be fine as long as Flora decides to release her arms from around me and let me move." He then sighed and tried to push himself away from her. "I haven't seen her this worried over a small injury, though; did you say something to her?"

Immediately Hyacinth paled and backed away. "Uh, I may have given her a slight, but minor, lesson on fairy biology..."

He let out an annoyed groan. "Flora, love, it's rare for heart attacks to happen to fairies. Don't fret."

Flora let out a shaky sigh, giving him a tighter squeeze before unwrapping her arms from around him. "Still; don't do that again."

"I won't be doing  _anything_  for a while." He said. "I can't move around too much until it heals up properly."

That was either a good thing or a bad thing. It could be a good thing; not moving around too much would mean that he wouldn't have to be put into 'combat training'. He would have to stay out of any sort of training. But that could also be a bad thing; he would be staying out of training and, if something were to happen, he wouldn't be prepared.

Well, Flora already knew Karate and she was plenty fit, that is, if he needed to be defended. Redleaf looked fit as well, but as Lilith had said; the war was over three centuries - three hundred years - ago. A fairy's memory is almost perfect, but fairies have the option to remember or forget. And judging from what Clarion had told her hours prior to this, it seems like all fairies who had lived to see the war are choosing to forget. If he didn't remember, or didn't want to remember, he wouldn't want to fight back. That could cause problems.

However, one thing puzzled Flora; fairies already had instincts to survive and fight, if the scout-talents were any indication of it. They fought well against snakes, hawks, wolves and other dangerous creatures. So, as Lilith had also said, they have that fighting and survival instinct in them, but they just needed to let it grow back out again.  _That_  was the one thing that could take time. Too much time.

Flora smiled. "Well, this gives you plenty of time to relax, then."


	17. Flames and Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the early morning, Flora is woken by another nightmare, preventing her from being able to sleep once again. Not too soon after, the Crows are attacked by Dark Fairies and an old enemy that the fairies of Pixie Hollow hoped they would never see again.

_She doesn't know why, but she just needs to run. Away. She doesn't know from what, but she just needs to get away from it._

_Her breath is ragged, her heart is beating, racing, pounding, almost wanting to release itself from inside her chest. Everything around her is a blur, dark, filled with shadows. She isn't able to tell what's moving and what's inanimate, what's real or fake, what's docile or ready to kill her._

_Oh god, the shadows. They are following her, trying to grab at her, trying to suffocate her. They are filling her mind with dark thoughts._

Turn back, just give up. It's not worth it. You'll die anyways. Just like they did.

 _She shakes her head and just keeps running, trying to ignore that throbbing pain in her chest. She can still hear their pained cries, their anguished howls, can still see as their precious life spills on the ground, staining it the darkest shade of crimson. She can still see_ him _as he looks at her, tears forming in his eyes. She had let him down, she hadn't done what she could have._

_Suddenly she is falling, she doesn't know into what. All she could see were shadows, consuming her, filling her with fear, twisting her into its own image. She wails as pain pours into her, seeps through every inch of her being. The shadows soon reach her soul, crushing it with a single twist._

_She feels nothing._

_Then she feels it. A pure and unholy rage, a fiery hatred, and an unquenchable thirst for blood._

_The cruelest of daggers, sharp and deadly, in her hand. She then approaches him, not caring for his pleas for mercy. She presses the blade to his throat, a smile forming on her lips._

_"Farewell, Redleaf."_

_She slides the blade along his throat..._

* * *

" _Redleaf_!"

Her cry startled him awake, causing him to kick the sheets off as he bolted up from the bed. "What, what's wrong?!" It takes him a moment, but eventually his sleep-fogged mind is able to process what had happened. Again.

She had her arms wrapped around herself and her shoulders were heaving as she sobbed, her entire body shaking uncontrollably as if she were a leaf in a thunderstorm. Immediately he sat back down and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead and rubbing her back in circular motions. "Sh, you're alright." He whispered to her. "It was all just a dream. I'm here for you."

Flora continued to sob as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her. She needed to feel his heart beating, she wanted to make sure it was really him and not just another dream. "It felt... so  _real_."

Redleaf placed another gentle kiss on her forehead. This had been the fifth night in which she had that wretched nightmare, the fifth night she wouldn't be able to sleep, the fifth night in which she would be suffering from fear. The first time she had had the nightmare, it wasn't as... severe. As the nights passed, though, the nightmare would develop into something that would continuously haunt her. His heart ached for her, wanting to somehow heal the pain she felt, to expel the fear that plagued her so often. Try as he might, he couldn't control her dreams. "There is nothing true about nightmares, Flora. They're just shadows. Give a little bit of light, and they'll hide from you."

She hugged him tighter in an almost vise-like grip. "These are  _demons_ , Redleaf! I can't get them to leave me..."

He pulled back and tilted her chin up, wiping away the tears that streamed down her freckled cheeks. Her eyes were the deepest of grays, just like the clouds that held the most vicious of storms. She had a storm churning within her, loud and unrelenting, wanting to hurt her. He wouldn't allow it. "Then let me help you chase them away."

Flora took a deep, quivering breath, bringing a shaking hand to cup his cheek. She closed her eyes and softly pressed her lips against his, the faintest of whimpers escaping her as he placed a hand on the back of her neck.

As he kissed her, he briefly wondered if she had had nightmares.  _Before_  coming to Pixie Hollow. Was there ever someone there for her, to comfort and hold her? Or did she have to fight the fear on her own?

He pushed those thoughts into the back of his mind. No sense in thinking on it now. Right now, she needed him there. Completely.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, Redleaf slowly eased them down so they were laying on their sides. He ran his fingers through her chocolate-brown hair, gently pulling on the strands. Her hair had grown longer again, he thought.

Her tongue suddenly brushed against his lips and his breath hitched as he pulled back to face her, his hazel eyes meeting with her stormy gray ones. He searched them for any form of hesitation or uncertainty.

Flora gently bit her lower lip. She had felt horribly embarrassed the last time she had done... that. Almost ashamed. But she felt more confident, more sure of herself. She wanted to try again.

He almost wasn't sure of himself. She hadn't reacted too well the last time she had done that, but this time, it appeared that she fully intended her action.

Running her hands through his long tresses, Flora tilted her head and slowly leaned in closer to him, as if she were inviting him. Redleaf closed the distance between them and he shuddered as he felt her tongue slide past his lips. He immediately clung to her, his hand falling down to her hip and the other pressing into her back, pulling her impossibly closer to him.

She could feel her cheeks burning up as he eagerly returned the kiss with an almost exceeding amount of passion. Their lips met again and again, their tongues dancing and their hearts racing as their bodies trembled from the barely-controlled desire they felt.

Redleaf's hand traveled down from her hip to her thigh, slowly, cautiously, as if he were testing water. She did not push away or hesitate from his motion, but instead, responded in earnest by hooking her leg over his hip. Grabbing at the front of his shirt, Flora briefly broke their kiss and rolled onto her back, pulling him with her so he was laying over her.

Removing his hands from her person, he placed himself on his elbows so he would not crush her with his weight. Just hovering over her body, he was able to look into her eyes. The moonlight shone through the window, the pure white rays making her eyes gleam a sharp, bright silver. He felt drawn to them, like he could get lost in them, lost in  _her_.

He must've stared for too long because Flora suddenly shifted from underneath him and her hands were on his shoulders. "Red? If this is too fast, then we could-"

He shook his head and silenced her with a kiss. "It's not that at all, my dear. It's just... your eyes."

"My eyes?" She questioned.

He brushed back her bangs. "Very few fairies are ever given the chance to look into pure starlight."

It was absolutely cheesy, but at the same time, absolutely adorable! Flora blushed furiously and turned her head to the side, hoping he wouldn't see. "You're such a sappy, romantic dork..." She mumbled.

Redleaf chuckled and leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on the juncture between her neck and shoulder. "I know you love it..."

A deep shudder shook Flora as he kissed her neck again and again, each contact feeling as if it sent a jolt of electricity through her body. Releasing a contented sigh, she wrapped her arms around his body, her hands resting on his back. The nightmare that had plagued her just moments before this moment was almost forgotten, pushed into the very back of her mind. With him, she felt safe, she felt loved and felt as if she actually mattered. Back home, if she would've ever acted so intimate with a man, she knew she wouldn't have allowed him to be so close to her. Back home, men could almost be unpredictable, they would either respect a woman's wishes or they would want more. But she knew that Redleaf wasn't like that, he would never want to hurt her, she could trust him. And she did, with every inch of her heart.

As Redleaf peppered her neck with gentle kisses, with each breath he took, he could smell the faint scent of vanilla on her skin. Did she use perfume? Or was that her natural aroma? A sweet scent for an equally sweet woman, he thought. "You smell like vanilla..." He mumbled against her neck.

He gently nudged her chin with his nose. She tilted her head up, granting him more access. "And your skin..." He kissed her throat. "So perfect. Looks like the finest of silks..." another kiss along her jawline, just over her pulse. "Feels like the softest of clouds..."

"I-it's so pale..." She stuttered, another shudder overcoming her at the feeling of his breath on her flesh.

"Mm, just like cream."

His tongue skimmed over her throat, causing her to gasp and tremble from underneath him. "Red!" Her nails suddenly dug into his cloth-covered back and she arched her back into him. Why did she suddenly feel so hypersensitive to his touch?

Redleaf laughed breathlessly. "So sensitive..." He kissed her collarbone.

The sudden sound of horns blaring outside caused them both to jump. Almost as soon as the horns sounded, a Dark Fairy burst through their door.

"Get up, you two!" Hawthorn shouted. "Ambush!"

And with that she was gone, flying off towards the next house. Redleaf removed himself from atop Flora and they both got up from the bed. "Ambush?" Redleaf asked.

Flora shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but whatever kind of ambush it is, Hawthorn is expecting us to help."

She quickly grabbed her staff, the weapon that Lilith had suggested for her, and she and Redleaf dashed out from the home. Flora, out of instinct, jumped down from the front deck of the home and landed gracefully onto the ground. Redleaf, of course, flew down instead of jumping.

They both looked around to see the entire village in chaos. Dark Fairies were lighting up massive beacons by tossing a torch into them, lighting up the night sky with a golden light. They then saw as several other Dark Fairies, ones who weren't Crows, flew through the air, some landing to attack a Crow that was still on the ground.

She suddenly caught sight of a familiar white fairy. Grabbing Redleaf's hand, she pulled him along, dodging and weaving between Crows and other Dark Fairies. "Milori! Clarion!" She shouted.

The two Royals turned their attention to the young human. Clarion immediately smiled. "Thank goodness you two are alright! Have you seen Hyacinth?"

She shrugged. "I thought he'd be out here by now!"

They all heard an almost inhuman cry and saw as a Dark Fairy started to charge at them, sword drawn and ready to strike. Suddenly, another Dark Fairy collided with it, pushing it off to the side and slamming its head into the ground. The Crow sighed in disgust. "How did they get so close?" He muttered.

Flora's face lit up. "Raven!"

His head shot up and he whipped around. "Freckles! Haven't seen you in ages!"

The Dark Fairy groaned and attempted to sit up, to which Raven delivered a swift kick to his head. "Stay down!" He growled.

"How did there get to be so many?!" Flora asked.

Raven shrugged his wings. "Don't know, don't care. We shouldn't be grouped together; split up before you get scooped up!"

Immediately, the Crow flew up into the air, grabbing at another Dark Fairy and tackling it to the ground.

Flora shrugged at the fairies. "Well, you heard him. Split u-!"

She was cut off as she was suddenly body-slammed by another Dark Fairy. She was grabbed by the collar of her shirt and then lifted into the air. Flora twisted and turned. "Let go of me, you brute!"

Using her staff, she slammed it into the face of her attacker, causing it to drop her immediately. They hadn't gotten too high into the air, so the landing was not as hard as what it could have been. The Dark Fairy landed beside her, groaning in pain as it cradled its face in its hands.

Flora looked around, hoping that she hadn't been carried to far from the others. Of course, she saw Milori, but he was already busy fighting against another Dark Fairy.

Over the five days in which they were being trained, Lilith had given each of them a recommendation of a weapon based on how they fought. Flora, despite knowing Karate, was given a bo-staff. Clarion was given a bow, which worked well for her, considering she had been a scout before she was a Queen. Milori had been given these discs made of silver. They were sharp around the edges and, upon experimenting, Milori had found that frosting them could increase their throwing distance and speed. Hyacinth had refused to fight, of course. Redleaf, although he did fight, he never actually landed any hits. Although he was graceful in his defenses, Lilith couldn't determine which weapon was best for him. She had told him that he would have to find it on his own.

"Impure..."

Flora was suddenly tackled back to the ground by the Dark Fairy she had just taken down, causing her to lose her grip on her staff. Flora growled and kicked at its stomach with her knee. "Get off me!"

They rolled around on the ground for a few brief moments, landing punches and kicks as they went along. The ark Fairy suddenly crashed its forehead into Flora's, causing her to feel horribly dizzy. "Impure fairy..." He spat at her. "Don't know why they're so interested in you, but we have orders."

"What're you going to do then?" She hissed. "Kill me?"

He laughed. "As much as I want to, no. They want you alive..." He drew an iron blade from his belt, placing the sharp tip close to her cheek. "Doesn't mean I can't have a little fun..."

He placed the tip against her cheek, only sliding it along a small bit before he tilted his head to the side. "You're not burning..."

A sudden roar echoed through the night sky and the Dark Fairy's head shot up. Not even sparing her a glance, he dashed away and into the safety of the forest surrounding the village. Flora stood up and looked around to see that several Dark Fairies had done the same, taking off either into the sky or into the forest. Another roar sounded, and several Crows started to panic as well.

"It's Kyto!" She heard one shout. "Get down!"

A stream of flames ran along through the village and a gust of wind pushed Flora over and onto the ground. "'Kyto'?" She muttered.

The ground shook and an earth-shattering roar pierced her ears, making her cover them with her hands. She rolled onto her belly and looked around the village.

It was completely in chaos; Crows flying either away or deeper into the village square. Many Crows were taking the children into the safety of the forest, while others stayed behind to fight whatever this 'Kyto' was.

Flora was suddenly picked up and flown over to a shelter underneath a house. "Are you insane?! Laying out in the dirt like that!"

She shook the dizziness from her head, and pushed herself away from him. "Hyacinth, where were you?!"

"I was helping with getting the children into the tunnels until I saw you out there!" He snapped. "Do you not know what sort of danger you're in by leaving yourself so exposed?"

Flora was extremely confused. Of course, the entire village was being burned up by who-knows-what, but aside from that, there wasn't too much more to be so concerned about. Hyacinth knew she could take care of herself. "What is it, though?" She asked.

"Kyto!"

Flora rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know 'Kyto', but who is it?"

More flames streaked the ground and Hyacinth pulled Flora deeper under the shelter. "Kyto is the very definition of evil; he was there during the war, nearly decimating all of Pixie Hollow! Did you not read the history books?!"

"I did, but there was not much information on Kyto; the information I did manage to get to I wasn't able to finish reading."

Hyacinth eyed up the walls of flames, his face paling. "He's a dragon."

/ / /

Redleaf barely had any time to react before a wall of flames streaked just beside him, making him jump off to the side. What was Kyto doing here?! He was supposed to be in his cage!

"Fly away, pretty fairies!" He heard the dragon taunt. "Before I burn you to a crisp!"

The dragon dove again, letting out a loud roar before landing on the flame-engulfed ground. Several Dark Fairies swarmed the massive creature, throwing whatever they could at him. Kyto just roared and swiped his massive claws at them, tossing them away as if they were rag dolls.

Redleaf's blood ran ice-cold at the sight of the dragon. Why was he here?  _How_  was he here? Panicked, Redleaf flew around the village in search of Flora, silently hoping she had found somewhere safe.

"Fast fairy."

Redleaf had suddenly been grabbed and pulled back by his wings, causing him to shout in surprise. The dragon's claws wrapped around the Minister's body, bringing him up to meet his eyes. The dragon growled. "Where is the wingless fairy?"

"Not here."

Kyto slammed him into the ground, knocking the wind clean out of his lungs. "You lie. Where is the wingless fairy?!"

Redleaf struggled underneath his grip, glaring defiantly. Although he was afraid of the dragon, he was not about to show it. "You may as well eat me now, Kyto! I'm not telling you anything!"

Kyto knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with the fast fairy. It didn't matter too much, as he would be able to find the wingless fairy just as easily on his own. He just enjoyed scaring the other fairies. With a deep growl, he opened his massive jaws, ready to devour the sparrow man.

"Don't you dare!"

Kyto roared loudly as an arrow embedded itself into his eyes. He released his claws from around Redleaf, to which he immediately flew out of the way of the dragon.

Kyto pulled the arrow out and snapped his head towards Clarion, who had another arrow drawn and ready to fire.

He smiled evilly. "Queen Clarion."

"I will not permit you to kill another innocent fairy!" She shouted at him, her eyes glowing defiantly.

Slowly, menacingly, the dragon walked over to her, smoke drifting from his nostrils. "Tell me where the wingless fairy is, and I'll leave you be."

'Wingless fairy'? How did Kyto know about Flora? Clarion gasped at the realization.

He was helping the Dark Fairies!

Her brief distraction left her vulnerable, and Kyto took advantage of her distraction. He slammed his massive claws into the Queen, sending her crashing into the trunk of a tree. "Where is the wingless fairy?!" He bellowed.

" _Oy_!"

A rock hit Kyto in the head, to which he turned and huffed, a large puff of smoke blowing from his nose. "You want me, here I am!"

Flora knew it was crazy, knew that she was now probably crazy, but it was the only way to keep this dragon from hurting anyone. If sacrificing herself meant saving her friends, then she would do it. Despite Hyacinth's statements as to why she shouldn't do it, she went ahead with it anyways. He had tried keeping her back. Annoyed and, quite frankly, peeved at Hyacinth's insistence, Flora used a last resort and head-butted the sparrow man, knocking him out cold. It was the only way to keep him from preventing any sort of confrontation between she and Kyto.

"You're not a fairy..." He told her.

"According to the prophecy, I am." She retorted. "Why risk upsetting your 'master'?"

As Kyto contemplated what the non-fairy said, he failed to notice Milori running over to where he had thrown Clarion.

It was one of the few times in which Milori wished he could fly. It was the only thing that could get him to her faster. He skidded across the dirt, kneeling beside his fallen love. "Clarion!" He gently shook her shoulder, praying that she wasn't dead. She didn't respond to him. "Clarion, please, say something!"

The dragon slowly approached Flora, to which she stepped back a few paces. "Why don't you run, little 'fairy'?" He asked.

"So you take me to your master." She said. "If I go willingly, then you don't hurt anyone else here!"

"And why do you care for these fairies?" He asked. "You are not a fairy, and yet you care so greatly for them."

"This is not my world, but these are my friends!" She replied.

"But they do not care for humans."

"But they care for those who need help!"

He stood directly over her, staring down at her with his yellow eyes. She backed up away from him so she did not have to crane her neck so much, but she stayed put. "Why sacrifice yourself, though? Surely you know what must happen to you."

For a moment, Flora actually considered backing away, running, doing anything to avoid capture. But then she thought of Redleaf, of Clarion and Milori. If she did not do this, then they would die with her. She didn't know if the ritual would actually work, considering she wasn't a fairy, but if it didn't, then Pixie Hollow would be saved, there would be no war or destruction.

Squaring her shoulders, she looked back up at the dragon. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, Kyto. If I sacrifice myself, then there is hope for Pixie Hollow. They have a fighting chance."

What a naive little non-fairy, he thought. If she let herself be captured, then her friends would surely follow. Not only would they get the wingless 'fairy' in the prophecy, but they would get some of the most important fairies in Pixie Hollow as well. He leaned down to eye-level. "So, you'll come willingly, then?"

"And in return, you don't harm any of my friends, here, or in Pixie Hollow."

The dragon grinned. "Very well."

"Freckles,  _run_!"

Kyto sat up fully and turned his head around to see a Dark Fairy flying right for him. He didn't have any time to react before a silver sword slashed at his scaled skin, his blood spraying from the wound.

Flora watched as Lilith attacked the dragon and as several other Crows attacked directly after her, slashing at Kyto without signs of relenting. Lilith flew down to her and shoved her off to the side. "You better be glad that your sweetheart got to us in time!" She growled at Flora. "Or you would've been dragon food!"

"Where's Redleaf?" She asked

"He's on his way back, Freckles, don't you worry!" Lilith flew back up into the air, joining the other Crows in their attack against the dragon.

A sudden herd of animals, land and air alike, began to attack the dragon along with the Crows. Flora immediately recognized Fiona, Anthros, Hyacinth's dove and Missy in the fray, doing their best to help fight off Kyto. She recognized a few different creatures as well; a few snakes, other larger owls and hawks, there was even a young wolf aiding in the fight!

Kyto let out an angry roar and swiped at the Dark Fairies in frustration, just barely missing them as they all flew over and around him. Taking the deepest of breaths, he released a large cloud of fire, burning whatever Dark Fairy that got trapped in it. The animals were able to dodge out of the way before they were burned by the roaring flames. Smoke poured out from his nose and from between his teeth and he growled deeply. "If the little non-fairy won't come with me," he said, "then  _she_  will!"

Spreading out his wings, Kyto flew into the air and, finding his target, dove back down, reaching out with his massive claws.

Milori helped Clarion onto her feet, holding her tightly when she wobbled. "We need to get you somewhere safe." He told her.

"Better run, pretty fairies!"

The Lord of Winter was suddenly picked up and thrown off to the side, making him skid across the hardened ground. Kyto looked to Clarion, who still looked dazed from his last attack on her. "Nowhere to fly, Your Majesty." He sneered.

Flora watched in horror as Kyto grabbed the Queen. She shook her head and started to run towards the dragon, but she was immediately halted by Lilith with her wing. "What are you doing?!"

She smacked Flora upside her head with her other wing. "What will you do if you get to him?!" She hissed.

Flora, out of anger, grabbed the Dark Fairy's wing and viciously twisted it, making Lilith cry out at the sudden pain. Flora then ran to the dragon, who was just beginning to take off. With a vicious cry, Flora leapt into the air and grabbed at Kyto's foot, making the dragon look down almost in confusion. "You are  _not_  taking her!" She shouted.

Kyto huffed and shook his foot once, sending the wingless-fairy back to the ground. He should've kept her with him, he knew, but that wouldn't work with the plan he was beginning to hatch. It was a minor loss in the moment, but it would lead to a greater reward later.

Redleaf was just returning back to the village, hoping and praying that Kyto hadn't succeeded with his capture. If Flora was gone, taken to the Dark Fairies, she would possibly be killed; he wouldn't allow that. He  _couldn't_  allow that!

He saw as Kyto was flying into the air. Thinking the worst, Redleaf flew as fast as he possibly could towards the dragon, only to find that Flora wasn't captured. But rather, she had been hanging onto Kyto's foot. He was briefly confused, wondering what she was doing. Suddenly, Kyto shook Flora off from his foot.

This was the one moment in which he wished Flora could fly. As quickly as he could, Redleaf flew towards the falling human, hoping that his time as a Minister hadn't taken a toll on his speed.

Flora clawed at the air, mostly out of instinct rather than fear. She had fallen out of more than a few trees and clawing around would sometimes help her in grabbing a stray branch. But she wasn't falling from a tree this time. No, she was now falling after being kicked off from a massive dragon, and she was falling to the point that she could die if she hit the ground.

As she neared the dusty, charred ground, she saw the one creature that could possibly save her. " ** _Missy_**!"

The blue jay squawked in response, immediately taking off into the air. Why did fairies,  _especially_  the wingless ones, do stupid things?

Missy reached out with her feet, a small trick she had learned from the white bird, Anthros. When the weird, feather-winged fairies let them all out to play in the forest, Anthros would sometimes teach her a few tricks. He had told her she never knew when she might need to use those tricks. This was  _definitely_  one of those times.

As her rider fell close by her, Missy grabbed at her shirt, her small claws embedding themselves into the piece of clothing. If there was one thing that she was glad fairies would do, it was that they wore those odd coverings! She didn't understand why they did, but she was glad they did. Made them much easier to grab.

Out of nervousness, Flora laughed breathlessly as Missy held onto her. "Pretty bird!" She told the jay, who warbled in response, her crest raising partially. "I'm fine, girl, just get me down to the ground!"

Redleaf heaved a massive sigh of relief as Missy caught Flora. He hadn't seen the jay until she was almost directly on top of Flora. With haste, he flew back down to the ground, where he met Missy and Flora.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" He exclaimed, pulling Flora in a tight embrace.

Flora groaned and pushed him away. "Don't worry about me!"

Lilith walked over towards the young human and delivered another smack to the back of her head with her wing. "What you just did took guts, but it was stupid! What if your bird didn't catch you in time? Blue Jays aren't that fast!"

Missy screeched at the Dark Fairy, raising her crest.  _'I can fly just fine, thank you!'_

Flora rubbed the back of her head where Lilith struck her. "Don't worry about me, I said! Where's Milori?!"

Redleaf gasped. "Is he injured?"

Flora shook her head. "No, just..." She growled and ran over toward the edge of the bush, with Missy, Lilith and Redleaf following close behind her.

Flora's grey eyes darted around the edge of the forest. If it wasn't for the rising sun, she never would have seen Milori, even though he was almost as white as snow. She could see him just beginning to recover from the blow that Kyto delivered. He was covered in dirt, some of it smeared along his arms, clothes and face. His hair was completely disheveled, most likely from skidding across the ground. He looked as if he had just fought an entire war on his own.

Flora ran over to the Lord of Winter, helping to support him as he stood. "Where's Clarion?" He muttered.

Redleaf flew over to help hold Milori up, seeing that Flora was struggling under his weight. "Lord Milori, are you injured?" He asked.

He shook his head, rubbing gently at a bruise that formed on his forehead. "Where is Clarion?!" He demanded.

Silence. Pure, deafening silence. She couldn't be! His hazel eyes widened with horror at the thought. "She can't be..."

Lilith shook her head. "No, she's not dead. Just taken."

Flora cringed. "That isn't any better, Lily!" She hissed.

"How could you just let that happen?!" He snapped at the Dark Fairy, his previous horror forgotten and replaced with rage. "Could you not have stopped Kyto?!"

Lilith pointed the bone of her wing at the Winter fairy. " _You_  try giving chase to a dragon! Freckles, here, already did, and it nearly cost her her life!" She smacked Milori with the feathers of her wing. "Use your head!"

Frustrated with them, she growled and turned on her heel, flying into the air. "The rest of you, gather what you can, and..."

As the Dark Fairy flew away, Missy couldn't help but feel sad for the three fairies. Anthros had told her about his rider and his golden fairy love. And now she was gone, and the snowy fairy looked horribly sad. In an attempt to comfort him, Missy warbled and rubbed up against him, ruffling her feathers.

Milori placed his hand on the jay's crest, gently stroking it. "I'm fine..." He mumbled.

Flora and Redleaf looked at one another. They knew from personal experience that, if someone said they were fine, then they really weren't. "I'm sorry..." Flora apologized, although, not knowing entirely why. "I tried... we all tried..."

Milori shook them off from his arms, gently pushing Missy away. "Evidently, not enough."

Flora went after him, not intent on leaving the Lord of Winter to his own devices. "I understand, Milori. Wholeheartedly. You lost someone you care about, you're angry that-"

Milori whipped around to face Flora, his face hiding the rage that his eyes showed. "What do  _you_  know of loss? What do any humans know of loss?!"

Flora crossed her arms, not in anger, but in a form of self comfort. "Humans face losses every day, Milori. I faced a horrible loss when I was just a child. My father, a war hero, had died due to a failing heart." She shrugged, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I was so young when that happened, and he had so much more ahead of him! After he died, I was angry with everyone, with anything. I looked for someone else to blame, when I really was blaming myself for his death."

Milori watched her face carefully as she told him her story. He could see the conflict there, the anger, the pain. He could also see the guilt that she still felt. For a moment, he himself felt guilty for even lashing out at her in the first place.

Flora sighed, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "For years I blamed myself, berating myself, almost  _hating_  myself. I felt like I could have done more, like I could have done something to save him. It took me almost forever to realize that, no matter what I did, I couldn't bring him back." She stared Milori directly into his eyes. "You lost your love because of you breaking your wing, which made you lose your gift of flight, and you were never to cross the border again. After the freeze, you got her back. You swore to yourself that you would never let her go again. And now, Kyto has her. You blame yourself, you're angry, but you won't admit it. However, one thing you can do, is get her back."

She was right, Milori knew. Everything she said was right; he  _did_  blame himself, he  _was_  angry, and he most certainly would  _not_  admit it. Not to anyone. As Flora told her story, he also realized that she understood everything he was feeling, but on a more personal level. She couldn't get her father back, but, as she had said, he can get Clarion back. All he had to do was try.

Milori sighed heavily in defeat. "Very well..."

Redleaf looked around them, searching for someone who he realized was missing. "Where is Hyacinth?" He asked.

Flora immediately cringed. "Oh, ah, yes, about Hyacinth... I may have, sort of..." She cleared her throat. "Knocked him out..."

Redleaf's eyes widened at the thought. "Why would you do that?!"

She rolled her eyes. "He was keeping me from confronting Kyto, little worry-wart that he is, so I just gave him a quick head-butt. He should be fine." She then mumbled, "Might be out for longer than usual..."

"Did you really hit him that hard?" Milori asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "My head still hurts from hitting him, so it's a possibility."

Missy laughed mirthfully.


	18. To Gain, You Must Be Willing To Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Queen Clarion's capture, Lord Milori is offered a deal by the Crows' Magician. Flora, Redleaf and Hyacinth all attempt to talk him out of taking it, but the Lord of Winter is determined to get back the one thing that he had been missing for so long, no matter the consequences.

As Flora checked Missy's harness, her mind couldn't help but wander back to the events that had transpired just a few hours prior. Although she knew Clarion's capture wasn't her fault, she couldn't help but still feel guilty. She could have done something more, could have saved Clarion. Perhaps if she had knocked Hyacinth out sooner (and he was not happy with what she had done, of course, but she shrugged it off thinking he'd get over it eventually), she could have been the one captured, and not Clarion. Or maybe if she didn't bother with all of the questions Kyto asked her, of maybe if she just ran to Kyto sooner. It could have been prevented.

And then there was Milori. His words, although she knew he did not entirely mean them, still bothered her.  _'Evidently, not enough.'_

Flora looked over to the Lord of Winter, whom of which was checking the harness on Anthros. She did not blame him for being angry, but the words he spoke still had hurt her. He looked alright, on the outside of course, but she would never know what he was truly feeling on the inside.

Flora must have zoned out because Missy gently rubbed up against her rider, trilling quietly. She smiled and stroked the bird's crest. "I'm alright, girl. I'm alright."

Missy really didn't like seeing her rider so sad. It made her sad, which she also didn't like. That snowy fairy had made her feel that way, but Missy really didn't blame him too much because his gold fairy love was gone because of the dragon. He said some hurtful things, but he probably didn't mean them. There was a few times when Missy was angry and she'd say something hurtful to her brother or sister, but she never really meant them. So, for right now, she would try her best to cheer her rider up.

Flora tugged at the harness again. "You know, Missy, we never really did get to decorating this, did we?"

Missy warbled in agreement. Flora smiled. "Once I have the time, I'll see if I can make this vine look a little bit prettier for you."

Of course, Flora had time now, considering there was still preparations going on before they left the village, but she really didn't feel like wandering about on her own with a blue jay. Missy was strong and bullheaded when it came to protecting her, but if there was a horde of Dark Fairies just waiting out there, then they wouldn't stand much of a chance. Of course, then the children would want to go and look for seashells with her and if Dark Fairies came, they would be in danger as well. Flora didn't want to risk any of that.

"They aren't permitted to touch you, young human."

Both Missy and Flora jumped at the ragged voice. Flora spun around, ready to throw a punch at whomever snuck up on her.

The Dark Fairy laughed. "No need to worry. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have spoken."

Flora had never seen this Dark Fairy before. Well, she hadn't seen a lot of people in the village before other than seeing a few passing faces, but this person in particular, she knows she never saw in a crowd. She looked slightly older than most Fairies in the village, a few crinkles here and there. Her cheekbones and jawline was well-defined, but still had a soft curve to them. Her eyes were the colour of almost pure ice, almost to the point that they looked white, and her hair was the lightest of greys, pulled back into a tiny ponytail at the back of her head. Her wings were fairly small and were black with a small grey gradient near the bottom of the feather-tips. Much like Wolfgang, her wings had no patches of skin or bone, but the horns on the top of the wings were almost dull. She, however, had no scars. Her shirt was made out of black feathers (which looked more glossy compared to greasy, considering how most blackbirds looked) and her leggings were striped dark purple and grey much like what the scouts wore back at Pixie Hollow. She was the only Dark Fairy in which Flora has seen to be in almost perfect condition.

Missy seemed almost edgy around the Dark Fairy, however, with her crest raising and her feathers ruffling slightly, releasing a deep and threatening trill. Flora looked down to her bird. "Missy, behave..." She told her.

The Dark Fairy held up a hand. "I get that a lot from animals, not to worry. Not very many of them seem to trust me." She held out a hand to Missy, who backed up slightly. The Fairy sighed. "Oh, well. Allow me to introduce myself; I'm Dusty, the Crows' magician."

The Dark Fairy that Wolfgang told Milori and Clarion to visit, Flora realized. "And is there something I could help you with?" She asked.

Her question sounded a lot colder than she had meant for it to, but she had every reason not to trust the 'magician'. She had read about Dark Fairies back in Pixie Hollow and she happened upon the magician-talents. What they really were, though, were Shadow Fairies; using dark magic and dealing with evil spirits. Although this magician was a Crow, Flora knew that trusting a Shadow Fairy would be no different than trusting a snake not to eat you while you cleaned its teeth.

Dusty shook her head. "No, not  _you_  specifically, but him." She then pointed to Milori.

Flora looked back at the sparrow man, then to Missy, then back to Dusty. "And what exactly could he help you with?"

"More like me helping him whilst he helps me. A deal, of sorts."

Red flags immediately went up in Flora's head. Although Clarion had gotten her wing situation fixed by Dusty, that wasn't a deal, but a small pixie dust potion. It was a common trick, but it wasn't a deal. A deal would include using the dark magic that Shadow Fairies would use, and that would also include sacrificing one thing to gain another. "He hardly trusts Dark Fairies, I doubt he'd trust a Shadow Fairy. No offence, of course."

This was true. Milori still had a hard time trusting the Crows, and he had every reason not to. Although Flora trusted them, Raven had explained to her that Dark Fairies, even though they no longer are ruled by their former master, can still pertain some evil qualities, and this was especially true for the Shadow Fairies. Without dark magic, what were they, then? Just a small group of magicians with a few card tricks.

"None taken, dear." Dusty said. "Although you  _are_  correct, I have no doubt that this deal, he just simply will not be able to refuse. In light of most recent events, of course."

Flora looked down to Missy again, who slightly shook her head. Flora shrugged. "Well, you don't exactly need my permission to go and see him about this." Flora said to the Shadow Fairy. "So, why did you stop here to speak with me?"

Dusty smiled. "To expel your fear of capture, Freckles. You're worried that once you're alone, Dark Fairies will try to take you. But, as of right now, they are not permitted to touch you. Only to observe if they find you."

She walked away before Flora could say anything else, leaving her with her mouth agape. "How...?"

A cold chill ran along her spine, making her shiver. Flora barely knew Dusty, not even for five minutes, and yet she was already mildly disturbed by the Shadow Fairy.

She gave the harness one last tug before tying the ends together. She patted Missy on her neck. "Alright, girl, you wait here. I need to go and grab some things."

/ / /

He breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of the fresh morning air. The slight wind in the meadow made the grass wave gently, creating ripples of deep green and gold. The grass, never bowing to the wind, but instead bending with it, turning and twisting, much like a dance.

The wind blew the leaves in the trees, one of nature's wind-chimes, a natural music. In the distance, he could hear the Mourning Dove as it called out to its mate, he could hear the squirrels as they jumped from branch to branch, searching for its home, he could hear the brook as it ran through the grassy plains, as it hit against a stone, moving around it, not caring for the interruption of its travel.

He gently slid a foot through the dew-covered grass, feeling as the droplets gathered and spread into an even blanket. He could feel the coolness of the moist earth, just beginning to warm up from the evening's cool air. He could feel as the sun's rays shone down on the earth, laying over it, covering it in a blanket of warmth, the way a mother dove would their eggs.

The wind, it called to him. A soft voice, barely heard, silenced by a world that did nothing but talk. It spoke in a hushed whisper, heard only by those who listened and who wanted to listen. If you listened long enough, it would sing for you, it would play the most sweetest of music, begging you to dance to it.

He finally released his breath, letting it out slowly from between his lips. He stilled himself, not daring to flutter his wings, not daring to breath, not daring to even flinch. He listened, carefully, silently, waiting patiently for the song to begin.

His heart slowed to the rhythm of the song, a calm and steady beat. Finally allowing himself to breath and closing his eyes, he began to move, slowly, positively, moving with the wind, bending the way it bent.

The song began to pick up in in speed, the rhythm slowly changing, the beat quickening, the music becoming more intense. Undeterred, he moved along with it, arching his back as he twirled, the two silk ribbons flowing with his movements, dancing along with him.

His movements took him to the small brook. His eyes were still closed, but he did not need to see to know where he was going. He just needed to listen to know where to stand, where to move or where to leap. His bare foot landed on a stone and his free leg extended outward, bringing his body into a straight line as he spun around. Gracefully, he arched his body forward so his hands landed on two separate stones and cartwheeled, the silk ribbons not even brushing the surface of the water as he landed back onto his feet and onto the grassy meadow.

During his dance, he had not opened his eyes even once, and as a result, he failed to see Flora approaching the meadow, in search of both him and Fiona.

Flora had to ask around in order to find Redleaf. At first, she thought he had brought Fiona back to their home in order to pack their things, but upon asking young Fauna, she had said that Redleaf had finished packing some time ago and he had taken Fiona over to the meadow. She found Fiona fairly easily, as it was hard to miss a creature that size in the middle of a green forest.

The big cat was currently, well, cat-napping. Laying on the ground, her eyes just beginning to close, until she heard someone approaching her. Immediately, her head snapped over to the source of the noise and she let out a small, warning growl. Flora chuckled at the Lynx. "If I was a Dark Fairy, I would be running away by now."

She stroked Fiona's soft fur, making the cat purr in response. "Where's Red gone off to, eh?" She asked.

Fiona turned her head to the large meadow, her ears twitching in response. Flora looked to where Fiona was looking and was introduced to an almost shocking sight.

Redleaf was out there, of course, but he was... dancing. Since when did Redleaf dance? Flora tilted her head to the side, watching in fascination and awe as the Minister of Autumn leapt and twirled through the air, the red ribbons fanning out in the wind and creating an almost silk-like curtain around him. His hair, although pulled back into a ponytail, would move along with him. Without even realizing it, Flora began to slowly approach him, shivering at the sudden cool breeze as she walked out into the meadow.

The song was becoming louder, almost deafening, the beat becoming more intense and the rhythm flowing at a much faster pace. Still, he did not end his dance there. He often would not stop until either the song stopped, or until he had nearly exhausted himself. It was sometimes a bad habit, but he truly felt a sense of calm whenever he danced, it was often hard for him to stop once he started.

Spinning around on his one bare foot, he gathered momentum before jumping into the air. He kept his body tight as he twirled around, feeling the breeze of the ribbons as they almost encased his body. The moment his feet found their way back to the ground, the song stopped, the silence of the empty meadow finally returning to him. His breathing finally returned to normal and, although his breathing sounded laboured, his body felt perfectly fine. Dancing for so many years had granted him an almost perfect stamina.

"Red?"

Redleaf jumped and spun around to find a wide-eyed Flora. He wiped at the sweat that had formed over his brow. "Flora! Ah... just how long have you been watching?"

She pointed back to Fiona, who had resumed her previous cat-napping. "I got here not too long ago..." She tilted her head off to the side. "I never knew you could dance, Red."

He looked at the ribbons in his hands and shrugged. "I, ah, that is... not very many people  _do_  know that I can dance. You're the only one that does know, now, actually."

Flora smiled at him. "When did you learn to dance?"

"When I was a young sparrow man, before I was a Minister." He explained, walking back to Fiona as he talked. "I was to be part of the Four Seasons Festival and my group was to perform a dance. We used ribbons and I had found that, as we performed, that I had truly enjoyed it. I continued to practice ribbon dancing in the Pumpkin Patch, during the evening when nobody would be working."

"That's why you looked so well-practiced, then?"

He laughed. "I suppose so."

Wrapping up the ribbons neatly, Redleaf put them into the large pack that hung onto Fiona's collar. "Is there something you needed?" He asked her.

"Oh, yes! Uh, there's two things, actually. The first thing being that I seemed to have lost my gloves. Did you happen to pack them?"

"Yes I did, although, why do you need gloves?"

Flora positioned her hands as if she were hanging onto something. "Whenever I ride Missy, my hands tend to rub the vine the wrong way and I get some rope burn. The gloves help to stop the rubbing."

That was actually rather smart, he thought. "Alright. And the second thing?"

She leaned in closer to Redleaf. "Remember when we read about the Dark Fairies back in Pixie Hollow? We read about their magicians, yeah?"

He remembered that in great detail. The imagery that was depicted in the texts were... disturbing, to say in the least. And it was haunting to think that the 'magicians' actually dealt with evil spirits in Neverland. A shiver ran down his spine. "Yes, I remember. Why do you bring it up?"

"Remember how Wolfgang told Clarion and Milori to visit Dusty?"

"Just barely. I wasn't paying attention to the man. I realize that Dusty is a Shadow Fairy, but there is no harm in a potion for covering wings. Why?"

Her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. "She wants to make a deal with Milori. Not about another potion, but a  _deal_. Involving magic."

He could hear the concern and worry in her voice, but he saw no reason for the concern. "Milori barely trusts Dark Fairies, I doubt he trusts a Shadow Fairy."

Flora sighed, obviously annoyed with Redleaf's sudden naivety. "Dark Fairies, no matter if they're bound to their master or not, still pertain their evil nature. Raven said so. And this reigns especially true for Shadow Fairies. They're deceptive and can strike a deal with those who don't even need one. Dusty also said something about making an offer he 'couldn't refuse, in light of recent events'."

The only event Redleaf could think of is when Kyto had captured Clarion. He had no doubt that Milori had been right by her side throughout the ordeal, but what had happened that would spark Dusty's interest? Of course, Milori blamed himself for Clarion's capture, but that wouldn't be enough to convince him to make a deal. "I can't really think of anything other than Kyto taking the Queen."

Flora started thinking as well. "Well, he seemed fine, all things considering. The things he was feeling was all natural, however, I can't help but feel like he meant more when he said I knew nothing about loss."

"Well, you had covered that situation when you told him about losing Clarion once." Redleaf explained.

Fiona watched as the two fairies talked with one another, thinking them to be incredibly stupid. The answer was obvious! Of course, fairies weren't quite as smart as felines were, so she decided to help them. She let out a small meow and nudged at Flora, who looked up at the creature. "What?" She snapped.

Fiona raised her paw and pointed it at Redleaf. He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What about me?"

She pointed again, a low growl sounding in her throat. ' _Not about_ you _, silly fairy!'_

They both looked out further into the forest, thinking she was pointing at something else. "There's nothing out there, Fiona." Said Flora.

Fiona stood, then, completely frustrated with the two fairies, and she let out a small roar, pushing Redleaf onto his stomach and pointing to his wings with her claws. Redleaf immediately stood up and dusted himself up. "What do you think has gotten into her?"

Flora, finally realizing that Fiona was getting onto something, carefully grabbed Redleaf's wings. "There's nothing wrong with them, hon."

Fiona face-palmed herself (well, more like face-pawed) and shook her head. With a louder roar, she nudged Redleaf with her nose, who finally flew up into the air to keep the big cat from further shoving him around. "What about me?" He asked, now clearly frustrated.

The Lynx sat down and growled, her ears perking up straight, acting as if she had just proven a point.

Flora looked between the two, her mind trying to conjure what the Lynx was trying to tell them. It wasn't until after they started talking about Milori that Fiona started acting up, pointing at Redleaf and his wings. When he flew, she sat down, almost in a sassy manner. "If only you could talk, you could tell us what's wrong..." She mumbled.

It suddenly started coming to her. "If only... hold on, 'if only'!"

Fiona and Redleaf both looked down at her, one looking more confused than the other. They both tilted their heads to the side. "What?" Redleaf questioned.

"Shadow Fairies are only really called when someone thinks 'if only'! That's when they want to make a deal! This morning, I wanted to go and get some shells to decorate Missy's harness, but if only it were safe! That's when Dusty made an appearance, however, although she had heard my 'if only', she did not want to make a deal with me. What if Milori was thinking an 'if only'?!"

Fiona crashed back down onto the forest floor and covered her eyes with her paws, now completely frustrated with them. It was almost impossible to get to these ridiculous fairies, some days!

Flora rolled her eyes. "I know what you were getting at now, you furball!" She snapped her fingers. "Redleaf, get back down here, she won't push you again."

Redelaf flew back down to the ground beside Flora. "Well, what is it, then?"

"Milori was distraught after Clarion was taken by Kyto. Just this morning, I had seen him checking his harness on Anthros and he had the same look on his face. The reason Fiona was pointing to your wings, when she sat down when you flew, is because Milori wants his wings back! His 'if only' was, 'if only I could fly'! If he could fly, he could've aided Clarion sooner and gotten her to safety! Dusty wants to make a deal to give him his wings back!"

Fiona made an obnoxious noise and rolled over.  _'FINALLY they get it!'_

Redleaf glared briefly at the big cat but then turned his attention back to Flora. "Do you really think it could be about his wings?"

"I wouldn't put it past the Shadow Fairy; they prey upon the regret and despair of others and use it to help themselves. Making deals is part of who they are! That's why Dusty said that she helping him whilst he helps her! By helping him get his wings back, he is helping her be a Shadow Fairy!"

It made almost perfect sense, now! Of course, if Milori could fly, he thought he would've been able to save Clarion, or at least protect her. "Do you think Lord Milori would take the deal?"

Flora made a face bordering between 'are you being serious?' and 'if you meant that, I'm going to slap you.'.

Redleaf sighed and brushed back the strands of hair that fell in front of his face. "Well, I know for certain that he won't go past his better judgment without questioning things. If I'm right, he'll most likely consult us and Hyacinth before going through with it."

"I certainly hope so..." Flora agreed.

/ / /

Hyacinth watched carefully as the Fairy spoke with Milori, watching in case she tried to do anything. Due to his lack of paying attention, he accidentally pinched some of his bird's feathers as he tightened the harness.

The dove warbled and pulled away slightly, making Hyacinth snap his head back. "Sorry! It's just..." He looked back to Milori and the Dark Fairy. "What is it she wants with him, Charlie?"

He warbled again. "That's ridiculous; Lord Milori would  _never_  trust a Shadow Fairy." Hyacinth mumbled.

Charlie chirped at his rider, who visibly blanched. Hyacinth swallowed, his stomach now feeling tight and knotted. "Oh, dear..." He looked back to his bird. "Do you really think he would?"

Charlie's head twitched off to the side and he smacked his rider with his wing. Hyacinth shook his head and straightened his hair back out. "Well, what do you want  _me_  to do about it?!" He hissed. "Lord Milori will make his choice, I have no say in it!"

The turtledove shook his head and hanged it down in exasperation, trilling obnoxiously. Hyacinth put his hands on his hips. "What do you mean 'I'm hopeless'? In case you forgot, I came along on this little 'mission' without your convincing! But I know when to keep my nose out of certain situations!"

Charlie let out a short screech and pointed his wing over to Milori, who now was alone and was continuing to check the harness on Anthros. "I realize that, Charlie! But would he really heed my advice?"

"You know about it too, then, eh?"

Hyacinth yelped and jumped, startled by her sudden appearance. "Are you naturally quiet, or do you just  _try_  to scare me?"

Flora shrugged and crossed her arms. "No, you're just really jumpy. Anyhow, so you know about what's going on with Dusty and Milori?"

Hyacinth nodded solemnly. "Yes, I do. And I don't like it. Not one bit."

"Flora and I were debating whether or not to approach Lord Milori about this," Redleaf told him, "or if we should let him come to us. It's a deal that he might take, but he is wise."

"But he is also proud and headstrong." Flora added. "He might not wish to say anything about it. What do we do then?"

"We try and stop this madness!" Hyacinth hissed. "Who knows what the Shadow Fairy could do to him! They are rather deceptive, you know!"

"Who is rather deceptive?"

Hyacinth yelped, causing Redleaf and Flora to both jump in surprise. "Nobody, Lord Milori!" Hyacinth quickly stated, trying to act casual by leaning against Charlie. His turtledove warbled unhappily and moved away, causing the sparrow man to fall onto his back.

Milori raised an eyebrow at the Minister of Spring. "I take it you are all ready to leave?" Milori asked, turning his attention to Redleaf and Flora.

She didn't want to be direct with the Lord of Winter, so she tried to be as vague as possible. "Are  _you_  ready to leave?"

He didn't catch on. "Of course, I am. I just... need to take care of a few things before we leave."

"And what 'things' would those be, then?" Hyacinth questioned him, dusting himself off. "We don't have very many 'things' here to take care of."

Flora cringed. **Smooth one, Cinth.**  She thought.

Milori crossed his arms, now suddenly feeling suspicious. "What exactly are you two implicating?"

He feels caught, Redleaf thought. He's trying to defend himself. "They aren't being direct, so I will be. Milori, we know that Dusty approached you about a deal. We don't know exactly what, but we're all guessing it's about your wings."

Milori's face suddenly became neutral, almost like Redleaf had flipped a switch. He really didn't know what to say, whether to be honest or to try and cover it up with some sort of lie. Although, Milori really wasn't one for lying.

Flora sighed heavily. "Look, Redleaf and I have done research. Dusty isn't really a magician; she's a Shadow Fairy. They're deceptive, and when it comes to their deals, they will do anything to make one with another person. You shouldn't trust her!"

Milori narrowed his eyes at her. "This is my decision to make, Flora. This is none of your concern."

Undeterred, Flora walked directly in front of the Lord of Winter, staring him down with her most iciest glare. "Are you quite dense? We are worried she might try to hurt you or even kill you. Do you really want to test your luck,  _or_  your wings?"

He backed away from the human. "I need to fly again, Flora. Who knows what else we may run into! If I still had my wings, Clarion would still be here, and we would not be having this conversation!"

"And if you had your wings, you would still be stuck on the other side of the border, forever pining for your love!" She retorted. "If you had your wings, Tinker Bell and Periwinkle never would've found each other, if you had your wings, there would be no way for Winter and the Warm Seasons to be united, that frost trick never would have been discovered! Things happen for a reason!"

The two Ministers were suddenly beginning to feel uncomfortable with the current conversation and the way it was headed. They were both stubborn people, but neither Redleaf or Hyacinth wanted to be around when their stubbornness reached their limits. So, slowly, they inched away from them, hoping they wouldn't be seen.

"And what if it was you and Redleaf?" Milori asked her. "If you had wings, but could not fly, and he were in danger; what then? Would you not want your gift of flight back?"

"Well, I don't have and never had wings, so there's that! And for the record, I have saved the rear-ends of several fairies without the use of wings, so you can do the same! All you need to do is try!"

"You keep saying that, Flora, but what is there to even try?! I have done all I ever could! I tried to get to Clarion, I tried to get her to safety, but I couldn't do it fast enough!"

Now finally at a safe distance, the two Ministers watched carefully as they argued between one another, ready to jump in if things managed to get out of hand. Of course, if it did, they doubted that either of them would throw any punches and if they did, it would be Flora doing all the punching and Milori would probably be holding her back with just his hand.

Flora rolled her eyes and growled. "Oh, would you quit with the moping?! I get it, Clarion is gone, you could have gotten her to safety before Kyto took her, but you need to bloody learn that what happened has happened! You don't need to make a deal with a Shadow Fairy to try and make things better!"

Milori glared. "As I said, this is  _not_  your concern!"

"Well too bad, I have made it my concern! Can you not just accept help for once instead of letting your stubborn pride get in the way?!"

" _I'm_  stubborn? You're the one who refused to let us stay and help you!"

By this time they had drawn quite a crowd, a few Dark Fairies stopping by to see what all the commotion was about. Hyacinth leaned over. "Do you think we should step in right about now?"

Redleaf shook his head. "Leave them be; they'll stop eventually."

"And yet you came anyways!" Flora yelled. "And the very first thing that lead you to following me in the first bloody place was because of your distrust towards a Dark Fairy! How do you think that makes you look  _now_?!"

Milori, about ready to retort, opened his mouth to speak. However, no words came out. She was right. Darn it all, she was  _right_! How did she  _always_  end up being right and backing him up into a corner? He finally released a deep and heavy sigh, almost making it sound as if it were a growl. "You're right. I may look like a hypocrite, but this is still my decision to make. Come what may, but no matter what consequences may arise from doing this, if it prevents anything like what happened to Clarion from happening again, then it will be worth it."

The rage that had been blazing between them finally died down to a low and dull spark as silence stretched. Flora's eyes searched his, finding nothing other than the honesty he had just spoken to her. She, herself sighed in resignation. Then, in a quiet voice, she said, "I just hope you know what you're getting into."

"I don't. So that's why you're going to come with me to get this situated."

"And why do you want  _my_  help, then? And why  _should_  I help you with this?" She snapped.

"Because you're the only one I can trust to come to my aid if I were to be harmed."

His words were like water dousing flames. Immediately, her previous rage disappeared and was replaced with surprise. Not only was he admitting his mistake, but now he was also admitting that she was right, that her concerns were also right, and was also asking for her help. That had escalated quickly. Still, she wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily. "Alright, fine. But if anything happens to you, I'm not to blame for this."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Redleaf looked over to Hyacinth and pointed to Flora and Milori. "What just happened? First they were arguing and now they're agreeing like it never happened."

Hyacinth shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. Not that I want to understand, really. All that matters is that nobody started a fight."

Redleaf snorted. "That's up for debate."

/ / /

"So, are you sure that's what she said?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure that's what she needs?"

"Yes."

"Because a feather is really debatable as the item she needs-"

"Flora,  _please_ , would you just... shush! I have this handled."

Flora shrugged and crossed her arms. "Alright. I still say you should use a piece of your wing."

Dusty had told Milori that she would need something in return for the deal. In this case, it was a part of something that could fly. Immediately, Flora suggested a part of Milori's wing, but he thought that, because he couldn't fly due to his broken wing, that it would be invalid. So, they 'borrowed' a feather from Anthros. And by 'borrowed', that really meant having to almost wrestle the owl to get one. Of course, that ended up with Anthros losing a few of his looser feathers, which gave them just what they needed. Of course, they could have asked Missy or Charlie, but they both flew off before either she or Milori could even get near them. Neither of them wanted to get plucked.

"And, as I said, I cannot fly. Therefore, it wouldn't work."

Flora sighed and rolled her eyes.

Dusty's home wasn't much like what the others looked like. Really, it just looked like a hut on top of a platform. A really big hut. They both climbed up the stairs that lead to the hut.

Various bits and pieces of items, lost things, as most fairies called them, hanged down from various branches by strings. Flora could easily recognize some of the items; gears from clocks, broken glass from wine bottles, alcohol caps, watch hands, there was even a few diamonds from earrings or rings. She appeared to be almost a collector, of sorts, but the items were no doubt from the various 'deals' she made with other Dark Fairies.

Almost hesitantly, Milori knocked on the wooden door with his one knuckle. "Dusty?"

There was no response. He knocked again, listening closely to see if she was in there. Of course, she  _had_  to be. Where else could she have been?

Flora clapped. "Well, looks like she's not here, so maybe we should just leave and come back-"

Milori opened the door and walked in, looking around the room.

Flora sighed and crossed her arms. "Or that. That works too."

A chill ran down Flora's spine as she walked through the door. It was just like that one time she walked into a Psychic's tent when the circus rolled in that one year. It was as if she could feel the spirits that were there.

The appearance of the room really did nothing to help ease her worry. There were shelves containing various items. There were some nice things, like rose petals, snails shells or pearls. But then there were things like hummingbird skulls or wolf's teeth. The sun provided at least a little bit of light through the one window, but other than that, it was lit mostly by the fireplace. The fireplace also had a form of a cauldron (or a pot, she really couldn't tell the difference at this rate) over it, so there was a lot of shadows being cast about the room.

"Dusty?" Milori called out.

Flora looked around the room, her eyes falling onto two bodies of small black snakes on one of the shelves. "Maybe she's not here, Milori." She poked at one of the bodies, almost as if expecting it to come back to life. Their eyes were open and, considering that snakes didn't have eyelids, they would never close. Maybe that's why they looked so  _alive_  to her. They also had to have been babies; fully grown snakes, even from the smallest breed, couldn't have fit in the hut at all.

Their heads suddenly shot up, making Flora scream and jump back in surprise. The two snakes slithered down from the shelf, one slithering around Milori and the other around Flora, almost as if they were excited.

"Hunter, Prowler, are you two causing trouble again?!"

The little snakes flicked their tongues at Dusty, the one around Flora's feet rubbing up against her leg. Dusty  _tsked_  as she walked into the room. "Sorry about little Hunter and Prowler, there. They can scare even Lilith if they try hard enough. Don't worry, though, they don't bite."

The snakes hissed, although not out of hostility, and then the one snake slithered up Flora's leg (who was standing still mostly out of fear) and settled himself around Flora's neck, making her laugh nervously. "I-I guess you're kind of cute... Hunter, is it?" The snake nodded and she scratched his head, making him smile and hiss in appreciation.

The one around Milori's feet, Prowler, just stayed there, spinning himself into a coil beside him and then looking up at him. He was a fair bit bigger than his brother, Flora thought.

Dusty placed herself at the center of the room, crossing her arms. "I take it you're here about the...  _deal_  I offered to you?"

Milori immediately presented the white feather to the Shadow Fairy, which she took from his hand. "An owl's feather. Something that flies, as you asked."

Dusty inspected the feather. "So perfectly clean. You must care for your owl quite a fair bit if he stays this clean." She ran her fingers along the edges of the feather. "This should do nicely..." She said to herself.

Flora walked over and stood beside Milori, careful as to not step on Prowler. "You feel that feeling settling into your ribs and stomach?"

He cocked an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Why do you ask?"

"That's what is known as the 'oh lord, what have I done?', feeling."

The Winter fairy rolled his eyes.

"I always hold up my end of the deals.  _Always_." She turned her attention back to the pair. "And, despite popular belief, I no longer deal with 'dark magic'. I still use my own magic, but not dark magic."

Flora stiffened at what the Shadow Fairy said. "Explain something to me; if you're using your own magic, aren't you still experimenting, then?"

Dusty shook her head. "Quit the opposite, in fact!" She crossed her arms. "I have abandoned the Dark Fairy magic, but by using Dark Dust, I am able to come up with various different spells and potions. By working with what I'm familiar with, I am able to come up with different tricks and spells."

"So, can you give me my gift of flight back?" Milori asked.

Dusty laughed, then, and the two snakes seemed to laugh along with her. "Oh, if I couldn't, then why would we be here?" She then approached Milori, holding out her one hand. "All it takes, is a good old shake of the hand, to seal the deal."

The two snakes suddenly stiffened, their venomous-green eyes staring intently at their master's hand. What were the creatures waiting for? Flora thought.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Milori finally shook Dusty's hand.

An evil grin spread across the Shadow Fairy's lips. "Perfect."

As soon as that single word was spoken, the two snakes sprung into action. Hunter suddenly tightened his grip on Flora's neck and then used the rest of his body to pull her back. The sudden movement surprised her and she didn't have time to react. He had pulled her back into a chair, where he tightened himself around her body like a rope. His head met hers and he hissed viciously, exposing his pearly-white fangs.

Milori was about to aid her, but Prowler had other plans. He slithered around Milori's legs and tightened himself around them, causing the sparrow man to fall to his knees. Prowler then wrapped himself around the whole of his body, tightening himself and hissing at the Lord of Winter. "Now, now, we can't have little Freckles ruining our deal, can we?" Dusty chuckled.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Milori demanded, struggling to release himself from the snake's grasp.

"Oh, do you not recall?" Dusty asked, leaning down so she was eye-level with him. "You want your gift of flight back. However, your human friend doesn't appreciate my deals, and with good reason. Although I do not use Dark Magic, I still need to deal with spirits. How else can I use my magic?"

His brown eyes widened in fear.

Dusty, with the white feather still in hand, walked over to the cauldron and dipped it into the substance that was boiling in it. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you.  _Much_. And if you're not satisfied with your deal," She pulled the feather out from the bubbling liquid and both Flora and Milori watched as it went from a fiery red to a shining silver, "don't blame me."

She approached Milori and walked around him so she was behind him. "These spirits tend to have a mind of their own."

Prowler moved his body so Dusty had more access to the sparrow man's back, hissing angrily as he struggled again. "Remember when I said that they don't bite? Well, that's unless you upset them."

Flora growled as she tried to get herself free from the snake's tightening grip. "Don't you dare harm him!" She shouted.

Dusty laughed. "Oh,  _I_  won't, but my friends might."

She grabbed Milori's two wings and, with one tug, ripped them straight from his back, making the Lord of Winter suddenly halt his movements. Fairies could not feel pain from their wings, even if they were pulled out, that's why Milori wasn't looking at all receptive to what had just happened. However, the look of horror on his face screamed louder than any anguished cry.

Using the quill end of the feather, Dusty then cut two vertical lines, both parallel to each other, over where his wings had been. Milori grit his teeth together, refusing to cry out in pain. The two cuts started staining his shirt a deep crimson, merging together to make one large spot. Dusty used her one finger to wipe away a small droplet of blood and, taking a handful of dark dust from her pocket, mixed the two substances together.

She backed away from the Winter fairy and suddenly threw the dust down, a bright red cloud bursting from where the dust had hit the floor. " _Transform_!"

Flora could only watch as the red cloud started to twist and turn around Milori's body, the snake that had been holding him down quickly slithered out from the red cloud, crawling up Dusty's leg and around her neck. Despite that he was free, Milori did not get up or try to escape, but he continued to kneel there on the floor.

"What are you doing to him?!" Flora shouted at the Shadow Fairy. "This was not part of the deal!"

Dusty's head snapped over to the young human and she approached her. "The deal was you bring me an item from something that flies. You brought an owl's feather, which was an ingredient that could be used to make the spell work. And the item from something that flies," she held up Milori's former set of wings, "is right here."

Flora snarled at her, her eyes almost screaming bloody murder. "You two-faced, backstabbing, little son of a-"

With an angry cry, Flora lunged forward from her seat. Hunter had not been prepared from the human's sudden burst of strength and was not able to hold her back as she swung a punch at his master. Both Hunter and Prowler immediately attacked Flora, tackling her to the ground before she could land another hit.

Dusty held her jaw, laughing at the human's almost petty attempt. "I admire your loyalty, young Flora." She knelt down and held Flora's head up, forcing her to watch as the Lord of Winter's transformation continued. "But it's all for naught. No worries, he technically is not awake, therefore, he cannot feel pain. Although, I cannot speak for after he wakes up."

The Shadow Fairy laughed maniacally, watching as the red cloud suddenly burst into a blinding orange. Flora closed her eyes, looking away from the entire scene. She had failed him. He had brought her along because he knew, he  _thought_ , she could protect him if it was needed. It wasn't entirely her fault, but she could have convinced him to leave.

The cloud of dust finally disappeared and Milori, with a single gasp of air, fell to the floor. His body was exhausted from the magic that had coursed through him, not used to the rush of adrenaline. The snakes released themselves from the human, watching as she practically crawled over to the Lord of Winter.

Dusty chuckled and stood, walking over to them. "The deal has been made. He got his gift of flight back; he has his wings, although not  _his_  wings. To make a long tale short, he got what he wanted," she eyes up his former pair of wings, "but he just lost what he had."

Flora turned him over so he was laying on his side, gently smacking the side of his face. "Milori? Can you hear me?!"

Dusty walked away, rolling her eyes. "As I told you, he isn't awake, Freckles. Although he is alive." The Shadow Fairy set the pair of wings on the mantle over the fireplace, smiling to herself. "And remember, don't blame me. Blame the spirits, if you feel so inclined."


	19. Test Your Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although Dusty's deal was not entirely honest, the outcome was not as bad as what it could have been. Lord Milori must now learn to hone his new pair of wings, and what better way to do so than by learning from an Owl?

He looked alright, as far as she could see, anyways. He didn't look pale, his temperature was normal, his heartbeat was normal, he was breathing normally as well. Everything about him was basically normal, aside from the obvious, of course.

However, that didn't account for his mental state.

Hyacinth was pacing like a mad wolf in a small cage, Redleaf was already on his fourth cup of nectar, and Flora was just sitting. Watching, waiting for any signs of him waking.

"Anything?"

She growled. "Hyacinth, there was nothing from him not even ten seconds ago when you asked, there isn't anything now!" She snapped her fingers. "Now, stop your pacing and sit your flower-covered tush down before I kick it into next season!"

It was almost mid-afternoon, and Milori still hadn't woken up from his magic-induced sleep. Flora had literally dragged him out of the hut, screaming for Redleaf and Hyacinth, who almost immediately came to her aid. Because of his... newly added weight, he was nearly impossible to carry over to Hyacinth's home, which was the closest to Dusty's 'house of horrors', as Flora had dubbed it.

His shirt had already been ripped almost to shreds and was already stained with blood, so they had removed it completely. And, upon inspecting his back, the cuts that Dusty had made to let his new wings grow out were almost non-existent. Either that, or his wings were just covering the cuts. Either way, they were massive, even for a sparrow man his size (or it could've been that they were just not used to seeing a fairy with wings like that). After getting him onto the bed, they checked to make sure that Dusty's 'magic' hadn't done any serious bodily damage to him. Then, they waited. It had been hours, but they refused to let the Lord of Winter out of their sight.

All of their heads turned as a knock sounded at the door. Without any prompt, the person opened the door. "Has he woken up, yet?"

Flora shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not."

Raven closed the door behind him, brushing his dark red hair back with his fingers. "I really don't know what to say, then. Dusty is an unpredictable magician, but I never thought she'd try and pull something like this off."

Flora scoffed.

"Regardless, she's getting an earful from Lilith. She's just as impressed as the lot of you are about this."

Redleaf downed the last of the nectar, pushing the cup away from him. "Can magic poison fairies?"

Raven shrugged his wings. "Depends on the magic that was used. Dark Magic is almost lethal to you fairies. Dusty has her own set of magic, although, she used dark dust to make the magic work. She also deals with spirits. Although spirits kind of go and do their own things, they respect life, no matter if they are evil or not. He won't die, that much I know, but..."

"Why is there a 'but'?" Hyacinth asked.

"And as I said, I will kick yours if you don't sit down!" Flora snapped. Immediately, Hyacinth set himself down on the mushroom stool, not willing to test and see if she was serious or not.

Raven seemed to hesitate, something that made Flora's stomach flip-flop. And not in a good way. "Spirits, whenever they're aiding with a transformation like this, they sometimes tend to...  _shift_  things. Not just with a body, but with a mind."

Flora looked back to the Winter fairy. "So what does that mean for him?"

Raven shrugged his wings again, crossing his arms over his chest. "Could mean nothing. They may not have touched his mind, or they could have. It all depends, really."

"What does it mean if they  _did_  'touch' his mind? Is he still Milori?"

"Look, if I knew all of this, Freckles, I wouldn't be beating around the bush about it!" Raven snapped. "All I can say is, although he will be himself, he might just be a bit... darker. More cynical, definitely, but just darker in general. He has a strong will and high morals, so I doubt anything about him has changed. Mentally, that is."

"He's waking up!" Hyacinth exclaimed.

Flora' and Raven both turned their heads to see that Milori was, indeed, finally waking up. Although, quite slowly. "Why does my head hurt?" They heard him mutter.

All four of them moved to the bed, looking down on the Lord of Winter. "Lord Milori, are you alright?" Redleaf asked.

His eyes fully opened, he looked between the four of them. "Yes, why wouldn't I be? What are you all standing around for, anyhow?"

They looked between another, unsure if he was being serious or not. "Do you not remember...?"

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, groaning in a mix of pain and fatigue. "Barely. Hurts to think in this moment..."

Raven gestured for them to back away and they obeyed. "Okay, Frostbite, what's the last thing you remember?"

Milori sighed, annoyed with the nickname that the Dark Fairies still called him by. "Going to see Dusty... hoping to fly again. Then I remember..."

He gasped and shot up from the bed, nearly tipping over from the weight that pulled on his back. Raven and Flora grabbed at his outstretched hands, pulling him back upright. "My wings! What did she do to them?!"

Flora patted his hand, hoping he would calm down. "Well... they're not exactly  _your_  wings, but..."

His head darted about the room, his eyes falling onto the mirror that was beside the fireplace. Managing to balance himself, he walked over to the mirror, intent on seeing for himself what the Shadow Fairy had done to him.

"Lord Milori," Hyacinth warned, "just prepare yourself and don't... panic."

Milori shook Flora and Raven off from his arms, tipping over only slightly before standing in front of the mirror. His eyes fell onto his wings. His  _new_  wings.

They didn't look quite as bad as Hyacinth made it seem. But they simply weren't his! These weren't fairy wings, they were Dark Fairy wings. Although, they did not have the expected colour and appearance of Dark Fairy wings. Although they were large and bird-like, they were pure snow-white in colour, with a few black flecks of black plumage. However, they did not have the sharp bones protruding from the joints of them, like most Dark Fairy's wings did. He grabbed one of his wings and looked down to it, fingering the delicate-looking feathers. He was speechless. He didn't know whether to be glad for having wings, or to despise the fact that Dusty had taken his  _true_  wings away from him.

Flora cleared her throat and spoke in a quiet, almost cautious voice. "We think that's why she needed the feather... of any bird. To give you the wings. In return, she wanted  _your_  wings..."

Milori should've been mad, or at the very least  _upset_. But he didn't feel either of those. He had indeed gotten what he asked for and, although it was not in the way he had wanted or expected, he still got his gift of flight back. And, as Flora always said, all he had to do was try.

He let go of the wing and attempted to lift them both, but not with his hands. They lifted only slightly from the floor, but then they flopped right back down. "How does one even...?"

Raven chuckled. "Don't worry. It's just like with the children; until they get some help, they can't lift them on their own, either."

Carefully, gently, Raven picked up the snowy-white wings and help push them upright on Milori's back, holding them there before letting them go. "Okay, try spreading them out."

That was easy, of course, It was just like when he had his old wings. The hard part was controlling the movement properly.

He spread them out just fine, but he had spread them out so fast and so wide that he ended up smacking Raven in the face.

The Dark Fairy groaned and held his nose, glaring at the Winter fairy. "Maybe we should do this outside..." He suggested.

Milori folded his wings back up and rubbed his arms. "I would prefer to be wearing a shirt when I am out in the presence of others."

Raven took his own shirt off and handed it to the sparrow man. "We're almost the same size, it'll fit you."

He sighed, but took it. "Very well."

/ / /

Everyone knew that the feather was the ingredient needed to make the spell work, but what they didn't know is that the item used in the spell would have an effect on how to wings would appear. Raven had said that, since they had Anthros' feather as the ingredient - a Snowy Owl feather - that had an effect on how Milori's wings looked. After Raven felt up the wings he said that, since Dusty had used dark dust and her spirit 'friends', they had the bone structure of a Dark Fairy's wings, but the feathers were a blinding white and with a few black flecks here and there, which looked almost exactly like a Snowy Owl's wings. Flora wondered that, if Milori had given Dusty a female snowy owl's feather, would there be more black flecks on his wings?

It didn't really matter, she decided. What mattered now was that Milori was starting to get flying lessons, which made sense. He hadn't flown for years, maybe even decades, possibly even for a century or two. He also had wings that were not very familiar to him. However, the only part that didn't make sense was that Milori was taking flying lessons from his owl.

Raven  _had_  offered to teach Milori, but he flatly refused. Raven had just shrugged. "Alright, then Frosty. Good luck." He had said.

Now, the Dark Fairy was sitting against a rock, chewing on a long strand of green grass. Flora, Redleaf and Hyacinth were all standing together just a few paces away from where Milori and Anthros were. Flora leaned over to Hyacinth. "Any idea what the owl is saying?"

Hyacinth, having been an animal-talent before he was a Minister, could understand almost every word the owl was saying. "Oh, just some basic things, really. About how bird's wings are different from fairy wings, about gliding rather than fluttering wings and such."

She nodded. "Oh."

As she watched Anthros spread out his wings and as Milori copied the action, Flora had to suppress a laugh. This was almost like teaching a baby bird to fly, once you thought about it. Only it wasn't a baby bird, this was the Lord of Winter. And his owl.

Oh, if Clarion could see this now, she would be laughing out loud!

Anthros suddenly took off, swooping around in the air, looking down at Milori, expectantly.  _'It's easy!'_

Milori swallowed, suddenly feeling apprehensive. He hadn't flown in... years. If he had his wings, his real ones, he would be able to learn how to fly a lot easier. But this was completely new to him. Normally, dark dust would be used to help Dark Fairies fly, but because Milori was still a regular fairy, he had to use Pixie Dust to help him fly. However, even with the Pixie Dust, his wings did most of the work. He had to think with his mind about moving his wings in a certain manner, and because his new wings were now part of his body - bones, muscles and all - he had to treat them as if they were almost an extra pair of arms. He had to physically move them.

Raven called over to them, "Hey, who's going to be the one to catch him if he falls?"

Flora and Hyacinth glared at the Dark Fairy and Redleaf merely rolled his eyes.

He held up his hands. "It's an honest question!"

Flora just continued to glare at him. "That question wasn't necessary, for one. And secondly, can you perhaps put another shirt on?"

Raven looked down at his bare chest and then back to her, raising an almost suggestive eyebrow at her. "What, you distracted or something?"

This time, Redleaf glared at the Dark Fairy. He wrapped an arm around Flora, shooting the Dark Fairy a final glare before turning his attention back to Anthros and Milori.

Anthros hovered in the air, waiting patiently for his rider to fly along with him. He warbled in a comforting manner, giving him a ghost of a smile. Taking a deep breath, Milori flapped his wings, taking him a few feet up into the air.

It was those few feet that had given him all the courage in Neverland.

Just being able to lift himself up those few feet felt like a miracle. It had been far too long since he had last flown, so this was a slice of heaven for him. Being able to fly again, was like having chains taken off of you. It was freedom.

With a smile and a laugh, he immediately took off into the air, taking Anthros completely by surprise. The Snowy Owl squawked and flew backwards a few paces, watching as his rider glided through the air.

From the ground, they could only watch in shock as the Winter fairy flew around the meadow, gliding, diving and rolling through the air. "He looks like a child on Christmas day..." Flora mumbled.

"Beg your pardon?"

Fairies didn't know much about human celebrations, Flora realized. "Oh, well you see, Red, Christmas is a winter celebration; gifts are given to family and friends. The children absolutely love it!"

"He's going to end up hurting himself if he keeps doing that." Hyacinth said.

Flora rolled his eyes. "Oh, quit your fretting, you overgrown blossom. Milori can fly again; just let him enjoy it."

She turned her attention back to Milori, watching as he flew. Flora didn't know exactly how much the loss of his wings had affected him, but seeing him now, seeing him smile and laugh, she knew it must have affected him more than the Winter fairy cared to show.

Finally tuckered out, Milori landed back onto the grassy plains, laughing breathlessly. He was flying. After so many years, he was finally able to fly again! He didn't care for what his wings looked like. Right now, all he cared about was that he could just... fly. There was no other way to put it, really. Silently, he hoped that this wasn't just a dream. If it were, he desired never to wake from it.

Anthros landed beside him, softly trilling. The Lord of Winter laughed again. "Are you quite serious? I feel fantastic!"

"Glad you feel that way, Frostbite. You did pretty well, you know, for a fairy who couldn't fly for so long."

Milori wasn't even annoyed by Raven's comment, which was a first, all things considering. Flora gently nudged Redleaf. "When was the last time you saw him this happy" She asked.

The Minister shrugged. "I cannot really remember. He was happy when he and Clarion were united again, but other than that, I have never seen him this... vibrant. Not for a long time."

Raven pulled the strand of grass from his mouth and flicked it away. "Now, one thing you need to remember; these wings are connected physically to you. That means you can get exhausted by flying. Because you're new to this, you'll get tired a lot quicker. Just keep practicing every now and again, and your stamina will increase."

"I have a question, though," said Flora, who had her hand raised. "Will his wings affect his speed?"

Raven shrugged his wings. "Depends. His wings are pretty big, so they're very strong. The bigger the wings, the more strength they have, the faster you can fly. However, you have to learn to hone that speed and use it wisely."

"Does that take training as well?"

He shook his head. "No, just a lot of practice."

Anthros warbled at Milori, who stroked at his neck. "Of course not. I'll still ride you."

The snowy owl smiled, fluffing his feathers out in response.

"I do hate to bring this back up," Hyacinth said, "but if we have all of this out of the way, shouldn't we be...?" He gestured with his hands.

Milori, now reminded of the weight of the current situation, sighed heavily, his smile disappearing. "Yes, you're right. Is everyone ready?"

Raven held up one wing. "Hold on, there's a couple of Dark Fairies that are going to come along with you."

"What?!" They all said in unison.

"Look, you're literally heading into the belly of the beast." He replied. "You need Fairies who have been there, before, who know their way around. If you fly in blind, you're asking for death to close in on you. So, Lilith, Hawthorn, Wolfgang and I are all coming along to aid you with this quest."

Flora shrugged. "Fine by me."

Redleaf nodded. "Very well. As long as it aids us."

Hyacinth clasped his hands together, his wings fluttering nervously. He didn't like the idea of having to go and face Kyto, or the idea of fighting, or the idea of having Dark Fairies alongside them as they traveled. It's not that he didn't trust them, but he just had some bad memories. Memories he didn't want to have to relive. However, reminding himself of who this was for, he pursed his lips and nodded. "Alright, then."

Everyone then looked to Milori, who suddenly felt like he was being backed into a corner. He still didn't trust Dark Fairies, and his recent experience with Dusty didn't help him at all. However, Raven had proven himself more than enough and Lilith had been the leader of the Crows for years. He trusted them at least a little bit. However, he hadn't gotten to know Wolfgang all that much and Hawthorn... she had a very independent and spiteful personality. He didn't like her from the start. But he had to get over it at some point.

"As long as we do not have any incidents involving you, I am fine."

Raven smiled. "Alright, then. Looks like we're out on an adventure!"

"I hardly call this an 'adventure', Raven. More like a perilous journey."

"Same difference, Freckles."


	20. Find A Way or Fade Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barely a day into their journey, Flora suddenly falls ill. Upon inspection, Lilith and the rest of the group soon learn that her minor "belly ache" could be something far worse.

She had fallen asleep again, Redleaf thought. He could easily tell by how limply she felt on his back. She still had an amazingly tight grip around him, though.

They were all travelling in some way or another. Lilith, Wolfgang, Raven and Hawthorn were all flying on their own. Milori was riding Anthros (he would occasionally hop off and fly alongside him, but once he started feeling tired, he would place himself back on his owl), Hyacinth was riding Charlie, and Missy, although Flora was not riding her, was coming along for the trip. Missy was not the best when it came to stamina. She could fly easily without a rider, but the added weight of one could tire her out a lot more easily compared to when she didn't have a rider on her. Flora insisted she stay back at the village, but Missy refused. Flora couldn't understand the bird, but she had guessed Missy wasn't staying behind (if sitting on top of her like a mother bird was any indication).

So, she and Redleaf were riding on Fiona. Since she didn't know how to properly ride the big cat (and she wasn't too keen on learning how to), Redleaf was the one holding the reins. Flora was sitting behind him, arms around his waist and resting comfortably on his back. The full moon had just risen and Flora was out cold! He smiled to himself, still amused by how small she was compared to him.

Redleaf suddenly yawned, shaking his head. He couldn't be getting tired already! He has stayed up far later than this and not grown exhausted!

Lilith dove down and flew beside Fiona, level to Redleaf's height. "Don't think I didn't see that, Tall Boy." She joked.

He brought a finger to his lips in a shushing manner, pointing back to Flora. Lilith rolled her eyes but smiled. "We should stop, anyways. We were all up fairly early and we don't want anybody fatigued. There's a river up ahead, we'll all stop there."

Lilith then flew back up to inform the others. Upon looking up, he could see that Hyacinth was also having a hard time staying awake , pushing down against Charlie and causing him to dive before snapping awake again. Charlie just smacked his rider with his wing.

They all had had a stressful day, Redleaf thought, especially Flora. She had been woken by a nightmare, then Kyto had arrived and then Queen Clarion had been taken (which she told him that she still felt responsible for), then Flora had to go with Milori about his wings and she still felt guilty for not doing something to prevent him being hurt. If it were him, he would've given up a lot sooner.

They had made it to the river a lot sooner than he expected. He slowed Fiona down, putting her into walking speed. The others landed just along the shore of the river. "I'll go and get wood for the fire. Tall Boy, you help me out once you can." Wolfgang said. He immediately took off across the river and into the forest.

Redleaf stroked behind Fiona's ear, making her purr in response. "Let us down, girl. Carefully."

Slowly, Fiona lied down onto the ground. The little wingless fairy had fallen asleep again. Was she really that soft and warm that she could put someone to sleep so quickly?

Redleaf placed his hand over Flora's. "Flora?"

She tightened her grip around his waist, groaning in response. "Mmm...?"

"Time to get up, little flower. Only for a moment."

She shook her head. "Mm-mm."

Redleaf sighed and chuckled. "Would you at least let me go so I can carry you?"

Sighing, she released her grip around him and he twisted around, holding onto her with one hand. He then swung his one leg around and carefully scooped her up, flying down to the flat, grassy ground. She curled up slightly into a ball, much like the way a cat would after stretching or being disturbed from their sleep. With a soft chuckle he kissed her forehead, making her smile.

"I need to set you down so I can grab a few things, Flora."

She shook her head. "You're warm..."

"We'll be warmer with a fire, my dear." He whispered.

With a deep, almost sorrowful sigh, Flora nodded her head. Redleaf slowly set her legs down until she touched the ground with her feet. Flora rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Was I really out that long?"

He kissed her forehead again, brushing back her bangs affectionately. "Out like a firefly."

Flora yawned again and stretched out her limbs as he flew over to help Wolfgang with gathering wood. Since she had come to Pixie Hollow, she found that she was a lot harder to wake compared to back home in London. If someone so much as opened her door, she would be instantly awake. Here, she fell asleep on top of a Lynx running around bushes, trees and logs. She guessed it had to do with the fact that she could actually feel relaxed here (all things considering, of course).

"You know, you two are actually cute."

She tiredly looked over to Hawthorn. "Beg pardon?"

The Dark Fairy pointed to Hyacinth. "Hey, Flowers! Once you're done there, get the rolls out!" She then turned her attention back to Flora and crossed her arms. "You and Tall Boy. I never really liked all that sappy romance stuff, never was interested in it myself. When I first met you guys, I was a little annoyed with the fact that there were two couples in your group. But I think you two are cute together."

She didn't really know what to say. Was Hawthorn complimenting them or was she just making a comment? "Uh, thanks?"

Hawthorn tilted her head to the side. "What got you two together in the first place? I mean, it's not like you're not compatible, but a human and a fairy. Never thought I'd see that happen."

Flora shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we had been really good friends for about a year. I never really realized it, but I guess the tension was already there, but neither of us realized it or acted upon it. Then during the Winter Festival, we ended up being part of a matchmaking plan." She chuckled at the memory. "Two fairies, friends of mine, had gotten us together, putting a mistletoe over our heads. If it wasn't for them, I don't think we'd be together."

"You both each other's first lover?"

Flora's head snapped up to the Dark Fairy. "Excuse you? I thought we had established that we're only sweethearts."

Hawthorn raised an eyebrow. "That's not what it looked like, this morning. You know, when we were getting ambushed. Looked like you two were enjoying yourselves."

Immediately, Flora blushed, embarrassed by what she was suggesting. Of course, despite her being in and out of the house quicker than a cat out of water, she didn't fail to notice the...compromising position that she and Redleaf had been in. She attempted to keep her voice steady, but failed. "T-that was just... we weren't doing  _that_! It was just... kissing... lots of it."

She snorted. "Snogging with your sweetheart, eh? Kind of cute."

Flora was desperately hoping that Hawthorn couldn't see how horribly she was blushing; she felt like her entire face was burning up!

Lilith, having seen Flora's state of discomfort, flew over to them. "Hawthorn, go and look for some berries with Raven. We need to save our rations as much as possible for this journey."

The Fairy sighed and rolled her eyes, taking off into the thicket. "Sorry about her," Lilith apologized, "she tends to be nosy, considering her former talent."

Flora forced a smile. "It's alright."

Lilith left her to her thoughts, presumably off to gather more supplies. Milori and Missy approached Flora, both equally confused to what had transpired. "What was that about?" Milori asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

He gave her a suspicious look, then quickly shrugged it off. "Very well."

Wolfgang and Redleaf came back, each with a pile of wood in their arms. "How does one exactly start a fire without the aid of the sun, then?" She heard him ask.

They both set the wood down and Wolfgang rolled his shoulders. "Simple. Just leave it up to Lilith." He started setting up some thinner pieces of wood into a tent-like formation, placing some dry grass and thin twigs in the center. Then, using larger but somewhat flat pieces of wood, he created a cube-like formation around the tent, stacking the wood in a way that a log cabin was made.

Lilith came back, a stone in her hand. "Watch and learn."

She knelt down beside the campfire and pulled out a small dagger from her belt. Striking the knife against the rock, hot sparks flew from where the two items connected. The sparks immediately caught fire to the dried grass, creating a small flame. Lilith immediately proceeded to blow at the fire, allowing for the flames to grow. Satisfied, she sat up on her knees. "By using a simple flint and dagger, you can use the two items to create a fire. We used these a lot when we traveled and when we needed to light something up."

"What sort of metal is it, though?" Flora asked.

Lilith shrugged her wings. "I don't know. The metal-workers worried about that, we just worried about the care of our weapons."

Hyacinth had managed to get all of the bed rolls (or leaf rolls, Flora could never really decide what to call them) out from Fiona's pack and he handed them all out to everyone.

Well, technically everyone.

He handed just one to Flora and she was suddenly confused. "Hold on, doesn't Red need one?"

Hyacinth shrugged helplessly. "It has both your names on it, so I assume it's for the both of you."

Flora suppressed a growl. Of course; Hawthorn had been in charge of getting the bed rolls all packed, she must've gotten one big enough for two! She couldn't tell if the Dark Fairy was trying to keep them together, or if she was just poking fun at the both of them. Either way, it was starting to get on her nerves.

/ / /

With the fire finally blazing and Raven and Hawthorn returning with the berries, they all were able to finally relax.

"How far must we travel in order to reach where Kyto took Clarion?" Milori asked.

Lilith sniffed as she roasted the berries, slowly spinning them over the fire. "Don't get your hopes up too much, Frostbite. It's a three day trip to Misty Creek, then it's about two more days to travel up the Glacier Mountains, then two more days to reach the Gulch. That's a week total, and that's only if nothing goes wrong, to reach Dark Valley."

Hyacinth shuffled uncomfortably, clasping his hands together. "What exactly do you mean, 'if nothing goes wrong'?"

Raven swallowed the last of food before speaking. "Plenty could go wrong in seven days, Flowers. Mist Creek is filled with mutants, and not very many of them are friendly. I know a few of them there, but I haven't heard from them in a few years. Glacier Mountains is very dangerous. It's cold, has falling ice, and it leaves plenty of opportunity to get sick. And the Gulch?" He chuckled. "That's a story all on its own."

Hawthorn stretched and leaned against the rock behind her. "May as well give them the whole package, Raven. Don't want Flowers' imagination killing him with fright."

Hyacinth sat a bit straighter. "I can do just fine without details, thank you. I'm not as 'fragile' as you may think."

She laughed. "So you're scared to hear more. I get it."

"I am not!"

She shrugged. "Uh huh, sure."

The Minister of Spring huffed. "Tell me more about this Gulch, then."

Raven puffed. "Well, for starters, the Gulch is nothing short of a death trap; endless rock and endless dust, no water, food, or vegetation. If it's sunny, you could bake. If it rains, it could easily flood. You go in unprepared, you could be dead within a day!"

"Is that it?" Milori asked.

Raven held up a hand. "There's more to it. Not only is it a death trap, but many have said that it is the home of a deadly creature. Some call it a monster, others call it a demon. Nobody knows for sure. It is a massive creature, almost the size of a youth dragon! Its body is dark in colour, its eyes as black as night. It can walk on all four of its legs, or it can stand on two. Its hands, or paws, whatever they are, are said to be three times larger than a human hand! Its claws are sharper than iron daggers, the size of a fully grown fairy. Any fairy who meets this creature, never lives to tell the tale!"

He looked around the campfire, smiling at the faces of some of the fairies. Hyacinth looked absolutely terrified, his face pale and his eyes wide. Milori wasn't moving, but simply staring at Raven. Upon looking at Redleaf and Flora, he saw that they had fallen asleep at some point. They were leaning against the big cat, the leaf over their legs to keep them warm. Flora was resting against his chest and his arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him. Their free hands were intertwined, resting atop the leaf. He chuckled, amused at the young couple. "Well, so much for my story-telling. The rest of you should probably follow suit. We've got a lot of ground to cover before we reach Dark Valley, and you'll need all the energy you can get."

"Wolfgang and I have first watch." Lilith stated, receiving a raised eyebrow from the Dark Fairy. "Then you and Hawthorn have second watch."

Hyacinth pulled his own leaf over his body, cuddling closer to Charlie. "Sleep well."

Charlie warbled, ruffling his feathers.

Milori sighed. "Sleep well." He mumbled.

/ / /

Redleaf's eyes slowly opened, wincing as the first rays of sunlight started to shine over the horizon. Taking a deep breath, he looked around to see that the fire had died down to a small, smoky flame, the coals still red hot. Everyone else was still asleep, much to his surprise, even Raven and Hawthorn were sleeping. He assumed that Lilith and Wolfgang were on watch, then.

He stretched out his arms and arched his back, pulling the stiffness out of his body. It wasn't until he stretched out that he realized that something,  _someone_ , was missing.

He shot up, panicked, looking around for her. "Flora?"

He suddenly heard retching out in the distance. He didn't know who it was, it could've been Wolfgang, Lilith or Flora, but whoever it was, they may be Flora or at least know where she could be.

Redleaf immediately started flying over to where he heard the noise, preparing himself for the worst. "Flora, is that you?" He called out.

"Red, I-I'm fine, just-"

Her sentence broke off as she heaved again and he grimaced at the sound. "Flora, love, what's wrong?"

He flew around a tree to see her on her hands and knees, her shoulders heaving as she attempted to breathe. He immediately dropped to his knees, rubbing her back in slow circles. "Try and breathe deeply, Flora!"

She coughed and sniffled, letting out a ragged groan. "I don't know what's wrong with me..."

He continued to rub her back, trying to calm her down. "It's alright, just breathe deep breaths."

Flora was about to say something else before she suddenly gagged, sounding as if she were almost choking. Her fingers clawed at the dry grass, signaling her frustration.

She took a few deep breaths, the occasional heave or gag shaking her shoulders, before she finally was breathing normally. With a deep sigh, she sat back on her knees and wiped at her mouth with a leaf, sniffling. Redleaf brushed her bangs back, his fingertips brushing against her forehead. She felt warm. Almost too warm. "Flora?"

She cleared her throat. "Do you have a mint leaf, by any chance?"

He placed a hand against her forehead. "You're almost burning up!" He exclaimed.

The Minister of Autumn suddenly scooped her up, carrying her back to the camp. Once there, he gently pushed at Raven with his foot, immediately waking the Dark Fairy. "What's wrong?!" He demanded.

"It's Flora! She's got an extremely high fever!"

He heard her sigh. "I'm fine, just a small belly-ache is all."

Raven immediately shot up. "Was she vomiting?" He asked.

Redleaf nodded. "Yes."

Upon looking, Raven could see that she was a deathly pale, but her cheeks were incredibly red, her lips were parted and her breathing was incredibly shallow. Her eyes, from what he could see, looked bloodshot and her pupils were dilated. "How do you feel, Freckles? Temperature-wise?"

"Cold..." She mumbled.

His heart sunk. That wasn't good.

" _Lilith_!" He shouted, startling the rest of the group awake.

Hawthorn groaned and shielded her eyes with her arm. "The heck is your problem, Raven?" She groaned. "It's too early for this..."

He glared at her. "Get your arse up, this is no time for jokes! Freckles isn't doing well!"

"What's wrong?"

Redleaf sighed. "Lord Milori, Flora is  _sick_!"

"Hold on a moment, who's sick?" Hyacinth asked.

" _Flora_!" Everyone shouted at him.

Both Lilith and Wolfgang arrived back at the camp a few short seconds later, both having concern etched over their faces. "What's wrong, Raven?"

"It's Freckles." He replied. "She's... not well."

Lilith walked over and quickly examined Flora, placing a hand to her forehead. She then checked her pulse, lifting her hand and placing two fingers on her wrist. Her eyes widened. "This isn't good..."

Redleaf had become increasingly worried. "What's wrong with her?"

"Fading Plague." She stated. "I haven't seen this in... decades. Never thought it would happen again, let alone to a human."

Milori and Hyacinth joined them, now also worried for her. "Is she going to be alright?" Redleaf asked.

Lilith brushed a hand through her hair, making him even more worried. "Uh... I don't know... I haven't seen this plague in a human before, I don't know how it'll effect her."

"Will she live?"

"I don't know, Minister!" She sighed, crossing her arms. "This plague spread like wildfire when it first broke out. There was a cure for it, but nobody was able to find the main ingredient for it."

Raven placed both hands behind his head, his eyes closing in frustration as he walked away from them. "Not this again..."

"The Fading Plague had killed hundreds. There were treatments for it, but nothing worked for long." Lilith shook her head, the horrible memories slowly coming back to her. "The plague died out, eventually, and that was the last of it. Nobody looked for the cure, because it never came back up. Until now."

Flora coughed violently, attempting to breath between each cough. "It's just a cold... a little flu bug..." She muttered. Missy, hearing her rider in distress, hopped over to Flora and Redleaf, trilling softly at them. She hoped her rider would be alright.

Redleaf swallowed, dreading the answer to his next question. "H-how long until...?"

The three sparrow men looked to Lilith, patiently awaiting her answer. As the silence stretched, their apprehension grew.

With a deep breath, she finally answered in a quiet voice, her eyes staring down at her feet. "Two days."

"It could be maybe even three days, though!" Hawthorn exclaimed, worry apparent in her own voice. "I mean, Freckles is a strong girl, she could make it for longer!"

"And what about it, Hawthorn?!" Wolfgang snapped. "What good would that do us?"

"I know someone in Misty Creek!" She replied. "A mutant, his name is Venom; he's a medic of sorts. He makes all sorts of potions, and I'm certain he could have something to help Freckles!"

"I thought Lilith said it was a three day trip?" Hyacinth speculated.

Hawthorn furrowed her brows and shrugged her wings. "It's better than sitting around waiting for her to die."

They all looked between one another, unsure of Hawthorn's suggestion. It was a three day trip, and the plague could kill Flora in two,  _possibly_  three if they were lucky. Even if that happened, they would be cutting it horribly close and what if Venom didn't have the medicine already made?

Redleaf looked down to Flora, who had curled up tightly against him, holding her stomach in pain. "We have to try." He said, looking back up to Lilith. "We  _have_  to. We can't let her die!"

"I never said we were going to," She said. "But... just prepare yourself. If we don't make it in time-"

"We  _will_  make it!" He countered.

She sighed. "Alright. Then we better get ready. We head out as soon as everything is packed!" She informed them. "No stopping until a few hours after sunset and we head out the instant the sun rises, if not sooner. We need to cut back on stops as much as possible if we want to make it!"


	21. Death Leaves a Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their path is blocked, so they must find another way to Misty Creek. Hawthorn suggest another way, but Lilith barely accepts the idea as it is far too dangerous. But with Flora's life on the line, they must go through the path which could very easily cost them their lives.

She was struggling to stay awake. She would constantly be nodding her head but then snapping back up. "Flora, you need to rest!"

She shook her head. "Don't want to fall..."

He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, holding her closer to his body. "I got you, my dear, you won't fall..."

Redleaf had almost lost track of the time when they had left their last camping area. It was almost evening, though, judging by how cold the air was becoming. They hadn't stopped since they left.

Wolfgang had offered to ride Fiona while Redleaf held onto Flora. She was almost too weak to hold onto the Minister, so he had to hang onto her. During the time that they traveled, she had started to become almost delirious, talking a lot of nonsense. A few things about flowers, some things about the snow. And then she had said something about his eyes reminding her of chestnuts.

"Fall... Autumn..." She mumbled, a small giggle escaping her lips. "I've always liked Autumn, you know. That's when apples are picked." She leaned her head against his chest, a smile on her face. "I like the smell of apples."

He gently kissed her forehead. "I know, little flower. I know."

"Lilith, first stage has set in!" Wolfgang called up to her.

"Better pick up the pace, then!" She shouted in response.

Wolfgang flicked the reins, coaxing the Lynx to run faster. "Don't worry, Tall Boy. Your sweetheart is a strong lass, almost as strong as Lilith." He looked over his shoulder. "She'll make it."

He gave the Dark Fairy a ghost of a smile.

"You  _are_  tall..." Flora said, giggling slightly. "Standing tall and strong. Something about laughing..."

Redleaf smiled and kissed her head. "'Stand tall, laugh loudly, and be who you truly are'."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "How can you stand tall if you're short?"

He brushed back her bangs. "How's about you sleep on it, little flower? You can tell me when you wake."

She smiled and snuggled back into him, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes. "Mm, good idea."

As her eyes closed his smile disappeared and was replaced with a worried frown. First stage? He thought. How many stages were there? And how long did they last? It has been several hours and the first stage has finally set in, did this mean she would maybe make it through?

Redleaf shook his head. He couldn't worry himself so much! As much as he hated admitting it, this entire situation was out of his hands. There was nothing he could do about it, except maybe hope. He had to be strong, for her.

And yet he couldn't help but worry! He loved her, what else could he do  _but_  worry?

For a brief second, his heart seemed to skip a beat at his own thoughts. Where had  _that_  come from? He looked down to Flora, who already seemed to be in a deep sleep. Did he really love her? They had been courting for only four months. Perhaps it was his current state due to her condition that was making him feel like this. He perhaps had a deep liking for her, but it couldn't be love.

Could it?

"Could what, now?"

Redleaf's head snapped up. Had he said that out loud? He shook his head. "Uh, nothing. Just thinking aloud, I suppose."

Wolfgang spared a look over his shoulder, smiling at the young sparrow man. "You know, lad, you don't have to hide anything from me."

When he didn't respond, he said, "I'll let you in on a secret, Tall Boy. Lilith and I, we're an item ourselves. Have been for decades. Have a small child of our own back at the village. I've been in your position before."

He raised an eyebrow at the Dark Fairy. "And what position would that be?"

"Two young ones, both deeply in love, but afraid to say it or admit it to one another."

He shook his head slightly. "We've only been courting for a little over a season, Wolfgang."

The soldier took a long look at the Minister, giving him a blank stare. "Listen here, how long have you known each other for?"

He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "A year and a half, almost."

"And you say you've been 'courting' for almost four months?"

"Yes."

"And you think because of the time you've been courting, you can't be in love?"

Redleaf opened his mouth to respond, but then quickly shut it. Wolfgang had a point. They had been very good friends for so long, and he had only really considered their romantic emotions towards each other until after they started courting.

Wolfgang chuckled. "Exactly." He turned his attention back to the direction they were moving. "Listen, I know for a fact that, on the 'Mainland', humans marry in a lot shorter time than you two have known each other-"

Redleaf sputtered. "Wha- Marriage?!"

"Let me finish, lad!" He snapped. "Humans often marry in a lot shorter time than you two have known each other, and they are deeply in love with one another. Love isn't measured in the time you have courted, it's measured in the time you have spent with one another and in the time you have been apart, thinking about each other. Love isn't always an emotion, it can be a choice. And now, you're choosing not to love her, because you don't want to worry so much or get too involved."

This much was true. He  _didn't_  want to worry. And he didn't want to get too involved. He didn't want his emotions to get in the way or to cloud his judgment.

Wolfgang continued. "That's a mistake. I made the same mistake, once, with Lilith. It was after we both left our former Master and formed the Crows. We were caught and she had nearly died. I hadn't told her about how I felt." He paused for a moment, collecting himself. "If she  _did_  die, and I hadn't told her that I loved her... I don't know what I would've done with myself."

He heard Wolfgang sniffle as he straightened his shoulders. The Dark Fairy was determined not to cry. "So, listen when I tell you this, Redleaf," He addressed him by his real name, gaining his full attention. "Tell her how you feel, no matter how difficult it may be. Tell her, before it's too late."

Redleaf swallowed a lump in his throat, the collar of his shirt suddenly feeling very tight around his neck. Wolfgang was right. Every word he had spoken. Although, Redleaf couldn't admit it. Not in the moment, at least. Somewhere, deep down, he truly did love her with the whole of his heart. But he couldn't say it. Blast it, why couldn't he say it?! Well, it wasn't like Flora could understand him anyhow, not in the state she was currently in.

Perhaps, once she's in a better state of mind. Then he'd tell her.

Lilith suddenly swooped down beside them, making sure her wings would not hit any of them. "How's she doing, Tall Boy?"

He looked down to Flora, now fully asleep in his arms. "I managed to get her to go to sleep." He replied.

She nodded. "Good, keeping her relaxed is key." She suddenly handed him two sunflower seeds, which he took. "Once the moon rises, nibble on these. We've decided not to stop at all tonight; it'll save us a lot more time in the long run. Besides, if the first stage has already set in, we may be running out of time a lot quicker than we think."

He looked up to the Dark Fairy, narrowing his eyes slightly. "She  _will_  make it, Lilith."

She sighed heavily. "I know. Just prepare yourself, alright?"

"I wasn't prepared for this at all, how can I ever be prepared for if she..." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

She nodded in understanding. "None of us were prepared for it. It just came up, suddenly. We don't know how she caught it, either. We never knew how  _anyone_  caught it. The last thing we were expecting was for a human to catch the Plague after so many years."

"And would this friend of Hawthorns' have the cure?"

"I don't know. But if he doesn't, he would definitely have something to at least delay it, so we can find the right ingredients for it."

Redleaf paused for a moment, thinking back to when Hawthorn had mentioned Venom. "Is he a Dark Fairy?"

Lilith shook her head. "No. Not exactly."

He tilted his head. "Well, what is he, then?"

"A mutant."

"And what are mutants?"

Lilith sighed heavily and then swooped around, landing herself gracefully on top of Fiona so she was facing the sparrow man. "Mutants have been around for far longer than any of us have lived. They are Dark Fairies, in a sense, but they are... twisted. Formed into half-creatures. They still have their wings, of course, but they will pertain qualities of whatever creature they've mutated into. The same goes with the rest of their bodies. They could have wolf ears, or snake scales. Because they are half formed, some can forget who they were, who they knew, and who they belonged to. Others, they do remember, but they aren't very accepted by us Dark Fairies."

"And why not?"

"They tend to give in to their more... beastly natures. They are half formed creatures, and the instincts of that creature can sometimes take over, making them almost creatures themselves. We lost a lot of Dark Fairies to a wolf mutant, once."

His brows furrowed. "If the wolf mutant was a form of a Dark Fairy, could you not stop them from hurting anyone?"

"No, Tall Boy." She snapped. "If you thought wolves on their own were dangerous, a wolf-mutant is ten times as dangerous! They have the instincts of a wolf, but the mind and body of a Dark Fairy. They can overpower over a dozen of us if determined enough. The same goes for any other carnivorous-type mutant."

Redleaf shuddered at the thought. Carnivorous animals were already frightening enough, but with what Lilith was describing to him, it sounded like mutants could be an absolute nightmare!

"Hold onto something!"

Fiona suddenly came to a screeching halt, nearly tossing off Lilith, Flora and Redleaf. Lilith's head snapped around, shooting a deathly glare at Wolfgang. "What gives?!"

He hopped off of the big cat, rubbing at the back of his neck. "This does."

Redleaf flew off of Fiona, careful as to not wake Flora. "What even is this?"

"A giant obstacle, Tall Boy!" Hawthorn hissed at him. "That's what it is."

Milori and Hyacinth landed alongside them along with Missy, immediately dismounting from their birds. "What's going on?" Milori asked.

For a moment they all stood in silence, allowing the weight of the current situation to settle in. What Hawthorn had said was true, it  _was_  a giant obstacle. One that could hinder their journey.

A giant wall of thorns. Not as bad as it sounds, but it blocked a large majority of the path that they needed to take in order to get to the Misty Creek. The branches twisted and turned in and around each other, creating an almost impenetrable barrier. The thorns were wickedly sharp and pointed, some small, some as long as a wolf's tooth. If anything snagged on even just the tip of one thorn, that could end with an easily mutilated fairy.

"Could we not just go around?" Hyacinth suggested.

"And travel for an extra three days?"

He huffed. "Forget I said anything, then."

Redleaf slowly filled with dread. "Well, what do we do? We simply can't go through, not with Flora in this condition."

Wolfgang broke off an end of a thorn, which immediately grew back. "This was placed here by magic. I think someone might be onto us."

"Who?"

He shrugged his wings. "I don't know, Lilith. But whoever it is, they don't want us to get through to Misty Creek."

Raven placed his hands on the back of his head and began to pace. "Why is everything working against us?"

Milori took a look through the twisting branches, which seemed to weave tighter in response to his gaze. "Is there another way?"

Hawthorn raised a wing, much like a child would raise their hand in a classroom. "Well, now that you mention it Frostbite, there is." She placed her wing back down, giving a short glance to Lilith. "I'm not sure what our leader would have to say about it though."

The Dark Fairy reacted immediately. "We are  _not_  going down that path, even if my life depended on it!"

"Yours doesn't, Lilith." Hawthorn gestured to Flora. "But hers does. It'll cut back the time by about a day. We could be there by tomorrow morning, or in the afternoon at the very latest!"

Redleaf tried to reason with her. "I'm certain that whatever Hawthorn may be suggesting, it may not be as bad as it seems."

Lilith stomped over to the sparrow man, who nearly shrunk back in fear. She stared straight into his eyes, glaring pure ice daggers at him. "You looking for a deal with a demon, boy? By taking that short cut that Hawthorn is suggesting, you're signing a contract with death."

"Us fairies are tougher than you realize, Lilith." He countered, not ready to back down from the Dark Fairy. "We have faced death before, stared it straight in its eye, but we have not backed down from it. We have overcome impossible odds. I'm certain we can beat this challenge, as long as we work together."

Lilith huffed, knowing she was beat. There was no changing this sparrow man's mind. "I warn you, boy, the Devil's Mouth is no trail for the faint of heart. Or the loud of voice. It's a long and treacherous cave, and because of the stalactite, you speak even above a whisper, and it will fall directly on you. Step the wrong way, you fall down an endless pit. Go the wrong direction, and you'll be lost forever in an endless maze. You die in there, we can't stop, we can't give you a burial, and we can't go back."

He was already scared out of his wits at the stalactites, but he wasn't about to show it. He tilted his chin up defiantly, looking down at the Dark Fairy. "Is there a challenge in there somewhere? Or did you decide to leave that out?"

Lilith sniffed. "Have it your way, Tall Boy." She snapped her fingers at Hawthorn. "You better start leading the way."

/ / /

The moon had risen over the horizon, casting a silver light over the travelers. Redleaf slowly nibbled on the sunflower seeds Lilith had given him, having begun to feel drowsy. Flora had slept for the entirety of their journey to the Devil's Mouth, occasionally opening her eyes and asking him where they were. He doubted that she even heard him before she fell right back asleep. Upon asking Wolfgang, he simply said, "It's good that she's sleeping at this stage in the Plague. Normally, when delirium sets in, people can't sleep at all. This gives her body a chance to fight against the Plague."

Although not as reassuring as he had intended for it to be, it was still good to know that Flora was doing better than most would be. Perhaps it was because she was a human, that her biology was somewhat different that it gave her a better chance at fighting off the disease.

Lilith suddenly landed at a mouth of a cave, holding up a hand, signalling for everyone else to stop. Wolfgang hopped off from Fiona, signalling for Redleaf to do the same. Once Milori, Raven, Hawthorn and Hyacinth had landed, she began to explain what they were to do. "Alright, if anyone has a death wish, by all means, follow us in. If you have something you've wanted to say to a loved on in case you die, do tell us so we can tell them for you."

She was trying to scare them, they all knew. It was a good tactic, but they were far braver than what she gave them credit for.

"Because if you make even half of a wrong move, and you could be dead within a second. Nobody is held responsible for anything that may happen. You all follow my lead," she pointed to the birds, "not a peep out of any of you, unless you want to kill us," she pointed to Fiona, "don't you so much as scrape your claws against the ground. The rest of you, you do as I do, and not as I say. And if I do say anything, you either fly or run straight ahead. Understood?"

Nobody responded.

"I said 'understood'?!"

They all suddenly agreed or nodded their heads.

She huffed and ruffled her wing feathers. "Good. Now, let's get going. If all goes well, we should be out of there in about an hour."

Wolfgang nudged Redleaf and handed him a bottle filled with a clear liquid. "Essence of Poppy. Put this under her nose for a few seconds, should keep her sleeping until we get out of there."

He took the bottle and popped the cork. "Will this hurt her?"

"Not as much as it would if she woke up while we were in there."

He nodded. "Right, then."

He placed the lip of the bottle underneath her nose, counting up to five and then pulling it away. He placed the cork back on the bottle and handed it to Wolfgang. "How do we know she's really asleep."

Wolfgang pocketed the bottle and shrugged his wings. "Give her a bit of a shake, call her name, I don't know what gets her up."

Redleaf sighed and looked down to Flora, who slept soundly. He almost hated to do it, but he needed to be sure she was really asleep. He gently shook her in his arms. "Flora, love?"

She didn't respond. She didn't even so much as stir.

He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "We'll make it out of there, I promise."

"Alright, if everyone is ready, let's get going! Walk behind me in pairs, in case we get separated. Hawthorn, you're with Flowers. Raven, you're with Frostbite. Wolfgang, you're with the sweethearts. The animals are staying behind us in case we need to get scooped up." She pointed at them with her wing. "Anthros, you pick up Tall Boy, Frostbite and Raven. Charlie, you pick up Flowers and Hawthorn. Missy, you just fly on your own because we don't want you getting slowed down. And Fiona? You pick up Wolfgang and I as well as any stragglers that may have fallen off. You four understand that?"

They all chirped or growled in response.

After lighting a torch with flint and her dagger, she nodded sharply. "Alright, let's go."

Wolfgang leaned over to Redleaf. "Whatever you do, don't trip and don't drop her."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

/ / /

They were walking almost painfully slow, so slow that it was bothering Redleaf to a large degree. He wanted to speak, wanted to tell them to go faster, but he held his tongue.

He looked up to the pointed rocks that hanged from the ceiling. They looked sharp. Almost too sharp. Why was everything so sharp on their journey?

He felt Flora stir in his arms and he hissed between his teeth. He leaned in close to Wolfgang and whispered, "I thought the essence would keep her asleep?"

"I did and it does!" He growled. "I can't speak for her dreams, though."

The rub that lied within their current situation. Flora had still been having nightmares whenever she slept, and he supposed that this evening was not going to be an exception.

"She has had nightmares for the past week."

"You should've told Lilith that before we went in here!"

Someone snapped their fingers, making them both stand at attention. Lilith dragged her fingers across her lips.  _'Zip it!'_

Flora whimpered, making Redleaf stiffen. He readjusted his grip around her, holding her closer to his body. He could hear Lilith growl and the group suddenly stopped walking as she made her way to them. "What's wrong?" She hissed.

"I think Flora is having a nightmare..."

"Is she prone to these?"

He nodded.

Lilith suppressed a groan. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't think of it. Lilith! Do not pin this on me!"

Hawthorn tapped Lilith's shoulder. "Uh, Lily?"

"Not now!" Lilith hissed. "Boy, she might just be our undoing!"

"Forgive me for being concerned for her life!" He countered.

"Guys?"

Lilith handed the torch to Wolfgang and then she crossed her arms. "Her life isn't any good if we're all dead, now is it?"

"I realize that, but try to understand-"

"There isn't any excuse! You should've told us!"

" _Guys_!"

"What?!" Lilith barked.

Everyone stood still then, and Hawthorn quickly covered Lilith's mouth. Not like it did any good, really.

They all looked up to see the stalactites wiggling in response to the sound waves that Lilith's voice had created. Rocks began to fall from the ceiling as they began to crumble.

Lilith rolled her eyes and shouted. "Get going!"

They all broke out into a run and the animals immediately started picking up their designated 'riders'. Anthros had to slow down in order for Redleaf to get on his back, but Milori and Raven had simply flown onto his back, permitting him to fly ahead. Redleaf looked back to see Charlie simply run into Hawthorn and Hyacinth, using his head to scoop them up (in a sense) and then make them roll onto his back. It took them a moment to get adjusted on the turtledove's back, but Hyacinth was eventually able to grab onto the reins.

Lilith and Wolfgang had grabbed onto Fiona's fur, hanging on for dear life as she ran.

Redleaf held tightly to Flora as Anthros dodged and weaved through the falling debris, folding his wings and rolling to avoid a falling stalactite.

"Head straight for the end of the tunnel!" Lilith shouted. "Once we get there, we'll be safe!"

Far easier said than done, of course. The rocks seemed to be falling a lot faster, as if they were almost alive, wanting to cave them in, to claim their lives for disturbing their rest. Redleaf covered Flora's body with his own, not wanting for her to get hurt by any falling debris should it fall directly on top of them.

"We're not going to make it!"

Hawthorn smacked the side of Hyacinth's head. "Then how's about you jump off now!"

Milori harshly flicked at the reins, a stiff growl emanating from his throat. He wasn't about to give up. Not now! He couldn't! "We  _will_  make-"

He was suddenly cut off as a massive stone hit Anthros' wing, causing him to plummet to the ground. The were flung across the stony ground, rolling and tumbling. Redleaf had lost Flora in the process, but she did not roll too far from him. Somehow, miraculously, she was still sleeping. It was odd, all things considering.

Milori crawled over to Anthros, who warbled in pain. "Are you injured?" He asked.

"Grab onto your owl!" They heard Lilith shout.

Redleaf quickly picked up Flora and bounded towards Milori and Anthros, just barely making it in time before Fiona picked the owl up by the scruff of his neck, carrying them as she ran. Wolfgang quickly climbed along the body of the creature and grabbed onto Flora's waist, holding her close to him to give Redleaf more of a grip on Anthros's feathers. "I got her, lad. Don't you worry!"

Redleaf could only hang onto Anthros as Fiona bounded through the cave, deftly moving through the various falling rocks and rubble. She growled loudly before suddenly jumping, just barely making it as the last of the stones caved in at the mouth of the cave. She skidded across the moist earth, dropping Anthros as she did.

Redleaf and Milori's grip slacked and they fell from the creature, rolling across the ground. They were just barely missed by Charlie, who skidded across the ground, tossing Hawthorn and Hyacinth off of him.

They finally stopped sliding across the ground and Redleaf breathed out, almost sounding like a laugh. Slowly, everyone started to laugh and shout for joy as well. "We kicked that cave's rear!" Hawthorn shouted, pumping her fists into the air. She bounded over to the pile of rubble the blocked the entrance to the cave. "Here's one Dark Fairy you're never going to get!"

A rock suddenly moved and she yelped, quickly jumping out of the way.

Lilith laughed brightly. "No harm in it trying again, eh?"

Raven laughed along with her. "Naw, just showing her who gets the last laugh."

Wolfgang carefully carried Flora over to Redleaf, who took her back into his arms. "Unscathed." He stated.

The sparrow man nodded. "Thank you, Wolfgang."

Milori immediately started doing a head count of everyone. "Including the animals, there's only eleven of us. We're missing someone!"

Anthros warbled at Milori and he stroked the bird's feathers. "Slow down, what's wrong?"

He chirped again.

The Lord of Winter started looking around. "Where's Missy?!" He demanded.

Lilith stood and brushed herself off, looking around the small area. "I doubt she's far. She was flying fast, but not that fast."

Hyacinth shrugged helplessly. "I didn't see her."

"I think I just did..."

Hawthorn walked over to the group and showed a deep blue feather, stained with blood. "I found it in the rubble. I don't think Missy... I think she might've..."

Redleaf gasped, finally realizing what the Dark Fairy had meant. "You don't mean... she couldn't have!"

Hawthorn shoved the blue feather close to his face. "Does this look like she survived?!"

He looked down to Flora. Still sleeping, her brows furrowed. It was as if she almost sensed the conflict, sensed what was wrong. He shook his head. "Flora... she won't..."

Charlie hopped over to Hawthorn and took the feather from her hand, setting it down gently on the ground. He inspected it closely before flying over to the pile of rubble, clawing at the smaller pieces of rock. All the while, he would chirp and trill. Hyacinth sighed and flew over to Charlie, gently stroking his neck. "Charlie, I understand she was your friend. But she's... gone."

The turtledove stopped clawing at the rubble, landing on the ground and chirping sadly. He gave one last peck at a stone before hanging his head and turning away. Hyacinth gently stroked his head. "I know..."

Lilith sighed. "We can mourn later, alright? I am just as sad as the rest of you for our loss. Missy was a sassy bird, something that I liked about her. But we have other pressing matters at hand." She patted the Lynx. "You doing alright?"

Redleaf looked around at the group. The fairies, they seemed... almost unaffected. Although Missy's death was sad, none of them had any real connection to her like he and Flora did. Or like Charlie, Anthros and Fiona did. And he knew for a fact that animals would often talk among themselves, just as fairies would. Missy was their friend, and they had taken a harder hit. And Flora? She wasn't awake, and he didn't know when she would. But he knew that she would suffer the greatest blow after she discovers Missy's fate.

After all she has been through, this was the very last thing she needed. And, for once, he hoped she would never wake.


	22. Love Heals Even the Worst Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally make it to Misty Creek but it may not be enough time to truly save Flora. Hope is the only thing that they can do, and Redleaf must face the possibility of losing the one person he has come to care for the most.

Hawthorn had been leading the way again, since Lilith didn't really know where to go from the Devil's Mouth. She hadn't taken that route in decades, so she didn't know the way from beyond there. Hawthorn was more than happy to help.

"Why do I feel like you've gone through there, before?" She asked.

Hawthorn had merely shrugged. "Wanted to cut back on some time, so I just went through there. No harm when you're on your own, really."

"You're either really brave, or just plain stupid."

She shrugged again. "Or insane."

That was a bit ironic, in Hyacinth's opinion, as this entire journey was insane! Magic-infused thorn walls, death-trap caves, life-threatening plagues, and all the while, they were hunting down a dragon to a Dark Fairy nest; what in this journey  _wasn't_  insane?

Well, he thought, it wasn't so much the journey that mattered, but it was the people who went with you. Sure, the journey is important, but nothing compared to who you spend time with on the journey. You go alone, you don't get to share memories or special moments. You bring someone with you, and you could easily make some memories, even if they involved a little bit of insanity.

But how much was going too far? Hyacinth looked down to Flora and Redleaf, who were back atop Fiona along with Wolfgang. This journey had taken a turn for the worse, with the Fading Plague. If it were his choice, he would've rather he caught it. It would spare Redleaf the heartache compared to if he died rather than Flora.

But then he thought about Snowflake. She had insisted that she come along and, although he had no doubt that she could take care of herself, he didn't want her getting hurt. But if he were to die on this journey... he wouldn't know how she would react.

Charlie chirped up at his rider, sensing his distress. Hyacinth smiled and stroked the turtledove's neck. "I'm fine. Just thinking of home, is all."

He warbled in response, a sad look overtaking his features. "I know, Charlie. She was an amazing little blue jay. Believe me or don't, but I'm missing her already. It's almost too quiet without her."

That wasn't a lie. He  _did_  miss her. Although she was Flora's bird, he had helped Flora learn to ride her. In a sense, he had gained a bit of a bond with the jay. And it was also true that it was far too quiet without her being around. Normally, Missy and Charlie would be chatting up a storm! They would talk about all sorts of things, ranging from the weather to what their favourite seed was. They were an interesting pair, considering most turtledoves tended to avoid blue jays, but it was nice hearing them get along.

And now there was nothing but a silent void. Anthros wasn't all that chatty, most likely his rider's personality rubbing off on him. Although Lord Milori was a more strong, silent type, not one for small talk, now that he got his flight back he was more chattier than usual. But he still had a bit of an edge to him, most likely due to Queen Clarion's capture at the hands of Kyto.

That was another thing that was concerning Hyacinth. What would they do once they got to the Dark Fairy's nest? He doubted that Kyto or the Dark Fairy master would simply hand the Queen over. They would most likely want something in return, and no doubt it would be Flora. Either that, or they would want to keep them both and sure enough, a fight would break out. And that is what terrified Hyacinth the most.

He didn't want to fight, not ever again. Not after the things he had seen in the war. Or the things he had done.

Hyacinth had valued everything living, from the largest creature to the littlest plant. He never dreamed of harming anyone or anything. But everything changed after the Dark Fairies tried to destroy Pixie Hollow. Then, he had no choice but to harm someone else, lest he be killed himself.

The war had scarred him, and it still haunted him to this day. If a fight is what happened at the Nest... he didn't know what he'd do, or if he'd even do anything at all.

"Hey, Flowers."

He was shaken from his thoughts as Hawthorn called to him, flying beside him. "You look a bit distracted. Those sunflower seeds not helping you?"

He shook his head. "No, they're working fine. I'm just... thinking."

Hawthorn raised an eyebrow, her eyes looking him up and down. He  _tsked_. "And enough of that little 'detection' thing you do!"

She rolled her eyes. "I already know what's up. I'm doing the 'detection thing' almost twenty-four-seven! There's never even a second where I'm not studying someone. And my studies of you seem to prove that you're worried. Dare I say, even scared."

When he glared she held up her hands. "And I'm not meaning that in an offensive way at all. You  _do_  look a bit scared, but I'm not sure of what."

Hyacinth sighed, wrapping the reins tighter around his hands. She would find out sooner or later, and he'd rather it be sooner than later. "Don't you ever get scared?" He asked. "Don't you ever get scared of what may come, or what may happen?"

She crossed her arms. "You mean with this trip we're taking?" She sniffed. "You have no idea. Not only is Freckles' life in danger, but we are chasing down an extremely dangerous dragon to my old home that I had left half a century ago. I left my own people, I am without a necklace, about to go back to the place that could kill me if my former master allowed it. How do you think I've been feeling all this time?"

He was at a loss for words. Hawthorn was a tough Fairy, he didn't think she'd be feeling fear. "I just thought... you're always so stoic. I didn't think you were afraid-"

"Let me stop you there, Flowers." She interrupted. "Even Dark Fairies feel fear. Without fear, we are without a soul, without fear, we are almost mindless drones. It is never an option to not fear something, but it is an option to show it to others and to let it get the best of you."

His brows furrowed. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm receiving a lecture?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "In a sense, you are. Whatever you may have seen, whatever may have happened to you in the war, I'm certain it was something that was mentally scarring for you. But you shouldn't let that get to you. We are going to end up fighting for our lives back at the Nest, whether you want to or not. But it's all up to you. If you want to die, then by all means, continue to be a pacifist. If you want to live, then you best get your flower-covered rear in shape! Find your fighting style, and use it!"

And with that she was flying back at the front of the group, directing them to Misty Creek.

Hyacinth sat there, stunned at what she had just said. How was she able to gather all of that just from observation?

He heard Charlie warbling mirthfully. He  _tsked_  again. "Oh hush, you."

Charlie chirped at him.  _'She certainly told you off!'_

/ / /

Of all the things, why  _rain_? It was perfectly fine earlier that day, but now it was raining! Redleaf hadn't thought of the weather changing so suddenly, so he hadn't tied his hair back and now it was all wet and clinging to wherever it could, including his face!

Of course, aside from Hyacinth, nobody else seemed to be bothered by it. Well, it wasn't really pouring, but it was more of a drizzle. Despite that, Milori actually seemed to be enjoying the rain, if flying around in it wasn't indication enough. He had even let his hair down!

The poppy essence must have worn off as well because Flora had begun to stir in his arms, her eyes opening as she muttered something incomprehensible. "Lilith, Flora is waking!"

The Dark Fairy immediately flew down, placing herself in front of them again. "Freckles?"

Her eyes flickered open as she groaned, sounding to be almost in pain. Lilith brushed back her hair and tilted Flora's head to the side. "Is she allergic to anything?" She asked.

Redleaf shook his head. "No, I don't believe so. Why do you ask?"

"Her lips look a little blue is all. She could just be cold."

Wolfgang removed his fur scarf and handed it back to Lilith. "It's bigger than it looks, so just drape it over her."

Lilith spread out the scarf and laid it across Flora, who curled right up underneath it. "Red...?" She mumbled.

"Yes, I'm here Flora."

She paused for a moment, attempting to gather her thoughts. "Since when were you so furry?"

He couldn't help but laugh at her statement. "That isn't me, little flower. It's Wolfgangs' scarf."

Her brows furrowed. "Wolfgang..."

Lilith and Redleaf looked up to each other, then back down to Flora. "Yes, Wolfgang. He gave you his scarf so you could warm up."

She looked up to him, a confused look in her cloudy eyes. "There's a fairy called 'Wolfgang'?"

His head snapped around. "I don't remember memory loss being a symptom of the Plague." Wolfgang stated. "What do her eyes look like?"

"They're a lot more bloodshot, I barely see any white." Redleaf replied. "Her pupils are... sort of a milky grey."

"Lilith, take a closer look at her lips!"

Flora smiled slightly. "My father sounds just like you. And he always liked tiger lilies..."

Lilith growled and tilted her head towards her, narrowing her eyes and closely inspecting the human. "There's veins spreading across her lips!" She gasped. "Wolfgang, she's reaching the final stage!"

Raven immediately flew down and glided alongside Fiona. "How? She was only at the first stage this morning!"

"We've got to remember, she's a human! We don't know how she'd react to such a foreign disease, and we don't know how long she can last through each stage." Lilith said. "It could be the stress she went through that engaged the Plague to move quicker."

Redleaf shook his head in disbelief. "But she was asleep! How could she have gone through stress?"

"Back in the Devil's Mouth, Tall Boy!" She snapped. "When that owl got hit and you all crashed; if she hit something, her body would be working to heal whatever injury she may have sustained rather than fighting off the Plague! That can speed up the process!"

His face immediately blanched. They  _had_  dropped from a fair height, but he doubted she really hit anything! Unless, her ankle. Although it was supposed to be all healed up, it could still be prone to injury.

Raven shouted up to Hawthorn, "How much time until we get there?!"

Hawthorn looked down. "I heard, Raven! We'll get there before the final stage fully sets in!"

Flora groaned and turned herself towards Redleaf, holding her head in pain. "Red, please make them be quiet. They're so loud..." She mumbled.

Lilith spoke quietly to Raven. "Tell Hawthorn to ride with Frostbite, and tell him that she'll be leading the way. You're going to ride with Flowers; we need to get there as quickly as possible!"

Raven nodded sharply and flew back up, informing Hawthorn and Milori of what the plan was.

"Isn't Hawthorn a type of tree?" Flora asked.

Redleaf kissed her forehead gently, brushing back her bangs affectionately. "Yes, my dear. Now, you need to just relax until we reach Misty Creek."

Flora smiled and giggled. "Missy, there's a creek named after you..."

He let out a quiet sigh at her statement. What was he going to tell her once she was healed? How would she even react to what happened to Missy?

Lilith gently grabbed onto Flora's arm as Fiona picked up speed along with the birds. "Keep her talking, Tall Boy. We can't have her sleeping at this stage, because we don't know if she'll wake up at all."

"But I don't want to talk." Flora whined. "It hurts my throat..."

"Is it sore?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No. Not unless I talk too much..."

Lilith groaned. "I don't remember the delirium being this potent."

"It's a strong potent." Flora giggled, her lips spreading into a full smile. "Delirium works absolute  _wonders_  on the mind!"

The Dark Fairy nodded. "I gathered as much."

"It can make you forget." Flora continued. "Delirium makes you delirious, believe it or not! When you're delirious, you feel light and happy. It makes you forget pain. It makes you forget a lot, really."

"What's she rambling about?" Wolfgang asked.

"She's just delirious, as she just admitted. I doubt it's important."

Flora shook her head and patted Lilith's hand. "No, no, you don't understand. Delirium can make you delirious, which can make you forget. It's a happy forget, though. But it can make you forget other things, good things, which makes it a sad forget." Her smile suddenly turned into a frown. "That sad forget can make you even more delirious, and it makes you see things. It can make you crazy."

Lilith gave Redleaf a look. "You know what she's talking about, Tall Boy?"

He shrugged helplessly, brushing back his rain-soaked hair. "Not at all. But, she does talk about a lot of things back on the Mainland. Maybe she's experienced delirium before?"

Flora shook her head again, a lot more furiously. "Father, he was delirious. The people said he was. Said he saw things that weren't real. Called him crazy. Called  _me_  crazy. I have been delirious my whole life, and now I'm even more delirious, seeing fairies everywhere. I even fell in love with one." She laughed. "That itself makes me crazy. I can't be loved. Father passed his delirium to me. It can be caught."

Redleaf was stunned at her words. 'I even fell in love with one'. Was that... did she really? He had to know for certain this wasn't just some pointless ramblings. "This fairy... the one you fell in love with?"

She smiled. "Mm, a handsome fairy, that one. Hazel eyes and hair as dark as the night, but soft to the touch. Voice deep but soft, like an angel. Almost unbearably tall..." She looked up to him. "He looks just like you."

His brows furrowed. She sounded like she didn't know him. Referring to him as 'he' rather than 'you'. Redleaf didn't know if that was a side effect of delirium, or something worse. "What was his name?"

"Redleaf."

Lilith shook her head. "This isn't going anywhere; she's half out of her-"

"Do you know my name, Flora?"

This time, her brows furrowed. "I... think so? I think I should, but I don't." She looked up at him, an unfamiliar look in her eyes. "Who are you? And how do you know  _my_  name?"

His head shot up and his eyes were met with an equally concerned Lilith's. "Is memory loss a side effect of this Plague?"

Flora sat up slightly. "I have a perfectly good memory, sir!"

"No, but it's definitely a concern we need to keep in check!" Wolfgang replied. "Keep her talking, ask her if she knows her name every so often. Keep her memory going; we can't let her forget to much or she can get stressed over it!"

"What is it with stress?" Redleaf snapped. "I understand physical stress, but she doesn't appear to be in pain!"

Flora fell against his chest, snuggling into him as he held onto her arms. "'Pain isn't always physical, Flora.'" She said, her accent mimicking that of a Scottish one. "'Sometimes, it can be from the heart, or from the mind. You feel stressed in your mind and sad in your heart." She tilted her head up at Redleaf, a sad look in her eyes. "'That can be the worst pain possible.'"

He didn't know what to say. Flora was most likely voicing what her father had told her when she was younger, considering she said Wolfgang sounded a lot like him. Redleaf also knew that she had gone through a lot in her childhood, in her whole life, really. But she had said she was only about eleven or even ten when her father had passed, which was a bit over a decade ago. Even when she was young, even before her father had died, she was still teased by the other children for believing in fairies. Barely had any true friends, never had the things most other children did, including a father, being estranged by her own people. Pain is never always on the outside, but it can be on the inside as well. He just never thought it could involve stress.

He gently rubbed her arms. "Could you perhaps tell me a bit more about your father?"

She smiled. "Oh, such a wonderful man! I spent most of my time with him whenever he was home. Mother would be cooking, Casey would be playing, and father would be showing me different things about fairies. Speckled leaves, dappled grass, even the pixie dust!"

/ / /

They had to keep her from talking. No, not because she was talking too much (although she was, all things considering), but because she was wasting her breath. Literally.

Just as they were reaching the border of Misty Creek, Flora's breathing was suddenly shallow and becoming increasingly laboured. It was like something was choking her. Lilith was the first to spot it, and she was desperately trying to get her to stop talking. Once again, involving stress but within the lungs. She was also shaking, almost like she was cold, but her body temperature was almost unbearably hot.

Wolfgang had tried to convince her to eat a sunflower seed, to try and get her to stay awake. But she said she wasn't hungry, even though she hadn't eaten in almost two days. Another symptom of the Plague.

"It's part of the fourth stage." Lilith explained. "It starts to toy with their mind, not just with delirium, but changing their whole mindset. Their body says one thing, but their mind says another. So, if she's hungry, her mind will say otherwise and make her feel full, even though she hasn't eaten. The Plague has a mind, one intent on killing. By making them not feel hungry, their body isn't getting the nutrients and strength it needs to fight off the sickness, allowing it to work quicker."

The plague was also starting to take it's physical appearance. Her lips were almost completely blue, with purple and blue veins spreading out from her lips. Her skin was also pale, and it wasn't just her skin tone. She almost looked as white as a sheet. Her eyes... they simply weren't hers! Now completely bloodshot, with no traces of white. Her irises were now completely clouded over in a sheet of milky white, her pupils barely showing in a light tint of grey. "Flora, can you see?!" Redleaf asked in a panic.

She nodded. "I can see... your eyes..."

Lilith shouted up to Hawthorn. "Are we there, yet?!"

"Yes!" She shouted right back at them. "But we all have to walk from here! It'll make some mutants think there are more of us instead of one lone traveler."

Fiona stopped walking and lied down onto the long grass, allowing the four of them to get off from her back. The rain had long since stopped, but the air was still humid and moist and the grass was completely wet, almost soaking them from their feet to below their knees. "Flora, love, you need to stay awake." Redleaf said, forcing a small smile.

"Tired..." She mumbled.

With a quivering breath, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "If you don't stay awake, how else can I look into your eyes?"

She smiled back at him, pressing her forehead against his. His forced smile was fading and the tears threatened to escape from his eyes as she looked at him with adoration. "Sappy..." She breathed.

As the others landed, Hawthorn and Raven both approached the four of them. "We should try and stay as close to Freckles and Tall Boy as much as possible. Raven said. "No telling how good their noses are, especially the wolf mutants. They could smell out a sick one within five miles of them."

Flora nodded. "Wolves hunt... in packs... scare out sick ones to... eat them."

Redleaf kissed her forehead. "Try not to talk, alright? Just relax."

She hummed in response.

Hyacinth and Milori approached the group, their birds close behind them. "How much further until we reach this companion of yours?" Hyacinth asked. "He has to be close if we're stopping here."

Hawthorn nodded. "Yeah, he's just past the bog. We'll get there in a few minutes."

Lilith tilted her head. "Raven, Hawthorn, just how many mutants do you know here?"

Hawthorn shrugged her wings. "Just Venom."

Raven crossed his arms. "I know quite a few, but once again, I haven't heard from any of them in years and I don't fancy coming here at all."

"But how many,  _exactly_?"

"Maybe about over twenty mutants. But that doesn't cover even one twentieth of the Misty Creek population. I don't know where they live, or if they still live here anymore. Or if they're even alive."

Lilith sighed. "Comforting, Raven.  _Very_  comforting."

Redleaf huffed. "Should we not get going?"

Hawthorn gestured with her arm. "Follow me. If we're lucky, we'll get there without interruptions."

"Don't jinx us, Thorn." Raven hissed.

The animals had formed a small, protective circle around the group of fairies (plus one human) with Fiona at the back and Charlie and Anthros on the sides. Hawthorn was at the front, leading them on.

Hyacinth was looking around, spinning on his one heel briefly. "I can see why they call this Misty Creek; you can't see a thing for more than twenty paces!"

Misty Creek wasn't exactly misty, but is was completely foggy and the air was humid, showing that the fog had no intentions of letting up. Clouds hung over the sky, providing no bright light for them. The grass was extremely long and green, covered in crystal clear dewdrops, but even the grass had a tinge of fog hanging around it.

"Which is why it's perfect for mutants." Wolfgang stated. "Depending on the creature-type, they have several tactics to close in on unsuspecting travelers. The fog around us is perfect cover for most mutants, and the long grass can help them hide until they're almost directly on top of their prey. Because of the grass, it's almost impossible to tell where the bogs start or end. You could either drop into a water pit, get sucked into quicksand, or a mutant could pop out from the water and drag you to the bottom." He shrugged his wings and turned his head to look over his shoulder. "And that's only three tactics that three different mutant-types use."

Redleaf heard Wolfgang snicker and he rolled his eyes. Probably just teasing Hyacinth, he thought.

"Crocodiles like to... pop out from water." Flora said. "Surprises their prey..."

Hawthorn chuckled. "Well, she's not wrong."

Fiona slowly stopped walking and she started looking around, her ears twitching and turning. Her nostrils flared as she sniffed the air. Something wasn't right. The little fairies didn't know it, but something wasn't right! She called out to the group and pounced over to them, trying to get their attention. "Flowers, you know what she's saying?" Raven asked.

Hyacinth listened closely as Fiona growled. "She feels like something is wrong. She keeps hearing and smelling things that shouldn't be here."

Hawthorn turned on her heel. "She's probably scaring herself."

The Lynx growled low at the Dark Fairy.  _'I am not stupid, feathered fairy!'_

Hyacinth shook his head. "An animal's instincts are almost never wrong. Whatever is putting her on edge, we should be cautious about it as well."

Hawthorn rolled her eyes. "Look, I've been here multiple times. The mutants will think twice before messing with me; I'm one of the scariest people here!"

"I doubt it, little Fairy."

She yelped and dashed away from the voice behind her, pushing Raven in front of her. "You're my meat-shield." She hissed.

A Dark Fairy emerged from the tall grass, his dark brown eyes staring Raven down. "I don't mind a bit of meat." He said, licking at his lips. "Haven't eaten in days..."

He had to have been one of the mutants that they kept talking about, Redleaf thought. His teeth were deathly sharp and a pearly white, the cuspids (as Flora had called them) being the most prominent. His body was covered in black fur and a pair of wolf ears protruded from the top of his head. His hands were seemingly normal, but the only off thing was that he had claws. Razor sharp claws. His wings were also covered in fur, but they still had the bones protruding from the joint. And it wasn't until Redleaf was eyeing up the mutant's wings that he noticed the legs and the tail. His legs were double jointed, most likely allowing him to be on all fours when he needed to be. His tail was also rather bushy, if not scraggly looking.

This was a wolf mutant!

Fiona leaned down towards the mutant and let out a low growl. The mutant let out a growl of his own before snapping at the big cat, nearly getting a bite out of her nose. She backed away before his teeth could grab onto her. "Oh, and don't worry, I'm not here for all of you." He pointed to the woman in Redleaf's arms. "I'm here for her."

Redleaf fixed one of his most iciest glares on him. "You will not touch her."

"Oh, that's where you're wrong. See, me and my pack haven't eaten in quite some time and, seeing how she's infected with the plague, we decided we would take her off your hands. Human flesh would be quite a treat."

Milori stepped in front of Redleaf and Flora, using his wings to cover them. "Your pack isn't here, therefore you're outnumbered. So I suggest you turn back."

The mutant tilted his head in a dog-like manner. "Oh, that's where you're also wrong. See, us wolf-types are stealthy, especially in the grass. You should've listened to your beast when she was saying something was wrong."

A younger wolf mutant stood up beside him. "Why can't we just take those three, Jax?" She asked, gesturing to Milori. "The human is too small and the white one is meaty enough. The tall one could be good for snacking."

He smacked her with his wing. "I am the Alpha, you all do as I say, Luna."

Several more mutants started standing up from the grass, staring the group down. Fiona growled and flattened her ears, backing up so she was directly beside Redleaf and Flora.

"Why can't we just take all of them?" One asked. "We could be fed for months!"

"They have a beast with them."

"But look, it's almost scared of us!"

Milori continued to keep his wings spread as a form of protection around Redleaf and Flora. "If they attack us," he whispered, "just fly. We have to keep Flora safe!"

Hawthorn moved from behind Raven, waving like a little schoolgirl. "Hello? Yeah, hi." She walked up to the Alpha. "Look, Jax, we've been traveling for a long time. The human is about to die from the plague and her sweetheart has been determined to find the cure for her. Even if you do manage to grab her, by the time you get back to your den, her body will be decomposing."

Jax sniffed. "Not unless we kill you all, first."

Flora weakly pulled at Milori's wing, and he glanced back at her. "What?"

"Alpha..." She wheezed. "Get rid of... Alpha."

He remembered, then. Back at the Winter Woods, when the wolves had attacked, they had to kill the Alpha in order to get rid of the rest of the pack. Of course!

Before Milori could act upon his thought, Hyacinth flew forward and in front of Hawthorn, standing between she and the mutant. "You will have to get through me, first, before you harm anyone else here."

Jax laughed, then, his laughter almost sounding like yelps and short howls. "Oh, that's rich! There isn't much of you to get through, little fairy." He then brought his face dangerously close to Hyacinths'. "I could get through you with one single bite!"

This had gone far enough! Not only was time being wasted, but this pointless arguing was getting on his nerves. With a huff, he carefully handed Flora to Milori and flew over to Jax, gently pushing Hyacinth off to the side. The Alpha was almost just as tall as Redleaf was, so when their eyes met, they were equal to each other. "I don't know who you are, what you've done, or who you were." He started. "But, I ask of you, please, find whatever soul you have left. The woman I have come to love is dying. We have traveled so far and for so long, I don't want our time being wasted over something so petty! Please, just call a truce for a short while, until after we heal her. That is all I ask of you."

Jax considered the sparrow man for a moment. He felt his Dark Fairy self pleading along with him, but his mutant side couldn't ignore the smell of food. Regardless, he decided to humour the fairy. "And after you... heal her? Or until after she dies?"

"You may do as you wish." He responded. "Just let us pass through. Please."

Luna leaned up to him. "You're gonna let a whole supply just-"

Jax immediately smacked her with his wing again. "Quiet!" He barked. His head snapped back to Redleaf, who had stepped back in shock. "I'll let you in on something; I remember a time when I loved someone, before I became who I am now. Although my wolf side is saying to chew on your throat, the Dark Fairy side of me is saying for me to listen. It's hard to fight instinct."

Redleaf nodded. "That I can understand..."

The mutant sniffed. "You've also got guts, something I admire. We outnumber you easily, but you had the gall to step up and make a demand." He patted the sparrow man's shoulder. "I respect that."

"So, will you let us go?"

The wolf-mutant chuckled. "Sure. We'll call a truce, for now. But I can't speak for after you settle your... problems. Us wolves gotta eat."

Redleaf could hear the other wolf-mutants growl and snarl, clearly not impressed with their Alpha's decision. Although he had bought them the time they so desperately needed, he was certain they would regret it later.

/ / /

They heard him yelp once again and the all-to-familiar  _splat_  came shortly afterwards. Lilith groaned and Hawthorn laughed. "How did he manage to become a Minister? He's so clumsy!" She asked, aiding him out from the thick water.

"Hush up!" Hyacinth snapped, shaking her off from his arm. "I am not used to this environment!" He stepped back onto the Lily Pad and peeled the algae off from his shoulders.

Redleaf sighed. "Hawthorn, how much further?"

"Literally just a few more paces, Tall Boy!"

The Minister of Autumn looked down to Flora, who now looked more sickly than ever! Her lips were now completely covered in a dark blue colour, the veins having now spread out towards her cheeks and over her chin. Her skin was now, instead of boiling hot, stone cold to the touch. She was dying. There was no other way of saying it, she was dying!

Hawthorn suddenly dashed ahead, into the fog, and they could hear her knocking on something. "Venom, mate! Open up, we have a sick one!"

"What in Neverland are you shouting so loud for?!" He heard someone say. "I'm right inside the door!"

As they all approached where Hawthorn had flown to, they could finally see a small home attached to a dead tree. Hawthorn was at the door and someone was standing inside of it. "Hawthorn!" Redleaf shouted, flying over to her. "Is this Venom?"

He heard a gasp and he looked inside the door to see another mutant. Although, he wasn't like the ones they had encountered several minutes ago. He didn't look like a wolf. His body was covered in chestnut-brown scales and his eyes were a solid green, his pupils in narrow slits. His wings were also covered in scales. "Is that a human?" The mutant asked.

Hawthorn huffed. "Yes, but this isn't the time for chit-chat! She has the plague!"

He gasped again. "How did she catch it?"

Redleaf shrugged, his nervousness beginning to set it. "We don't know. Just, please, can you help her?"

Venom breathed out and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know-"

"Please!"

The mutant held up his hands. "Alright, I'll try my best, tall boy!" He suddenly took Flora from his hands. "I'll need some space to get this done; Hawthorn, come in and help me!"

Hawthorn dashed in and, before Redleaf could follow suit, Venom slammed the door closed. He released a shaky breath and placed both hands against the door, his nails digging into the wood and his head hanging down. "Please, for the love of all that is good,  _let her live_!"

/ / /

His limbs were becoming stiff and sore and the humidity of the bog was making him incredibly edgy, but he didn't dare move. How could he? The life of the woman he loved was hanging in the balance and there was nothing he could do to help her, now!

Everyone else in the group was visibly upset as well. Hyacinth was, typically, pacing like an agitated mountain lion in a cage, muttering meaningless words to himself. Raven was sitting on the edge of the Lily Pad, throwing stones he had found into the water. Lord Milori had been mindlessly stroking at Anthros' neck feathers, his eyes staring off into nothing. Lilith was whittling at a piece of wood with her knife, occasionally brushing the wood pieces away. Wolfgang had been wandering around the Lily Pad in circles, his arms crossed and his wings drooped and dragging. Fiona had ended up actually laying in the thick and muddy water, with Charlie sitting atop her.

Redleaf had been sitting against the wall next to the door, patiently waiting for Hawthorn and Venom and, possibly even Flora, to emerge from the home. How long had he been sitting there for? It felt like hours! His muscles were protesting against him sitting in the same position for so long, but he didn't care.

He suddenly heard two voices approaching the door and he stood, his eyes lighting up with hope. The door slowly opened to a very frustrated-looking Hawthorn and a very tired-looking Venom.

"Well?" Redleaf asked, a small smile on his lips. "Is she better?"

The two people looked between one another. Venom sighed heavily and wiped at the sweat on his forehead. "Look... I tried..."

The hope in his eyes died along with the smile, and was immediately replaced with horror. "No..."

"She was already too far gone, Minister." The mutant tried to reason. "Maybe if she hadn't... I don't know!"

Redleaf shook his head in denial. "No... no, you're wrong!"

Hawthorn reached out to him. "Please, just-"

"You're wrong!" He shouted, pushing past them. "She isn't dead!"

Venom went to try and stop the sparrow man but was halted by Hawthorn's outstretched arm. "Let him..." she whispered.

Redleaf didn't see her in the first room, so he bounded past a curtain and into a second room. "Flora!"

He looked around. It was a candle-lit room, giving it an almost eerie aura. He smelled the faint scent of used potions and herbs in the air. Shelves lined the walls, various jars and pots placed on top of them. Then, in the center of the room and against the wall was a small cot.

And on that cot lay Flora.

He dashed over to her and dropped to his knees beside the cot, taking her hand in his. "Flora, please, it's Redleaf!"

She was cold to the touch, and her hand felt almost limp. But she was like that when they had first came to Venom's home. "Please, wake up!" He begged her, desperately squeezing her hand.

She didn't respond. She didn't even flinch. Her eyes remained closed and her body remained still. Her chest wasn't rising and falling like it should have been. She wasn't breathing at all.

Slowly, the horrifying, painful truth finally settled into Redleaf's mind. He tried to hold them back, but there was no stopping the tears that fell from his eyes. He tried to speak, wanted to try and wake her one last time, but all that came out was a sob. Why her? Of all the people, why her?! She was so young and innocent, why did she have to die so horribly?!

Hawthorn sighed and shook her head, tears threatening to fall from her own eyes at the sight. She patted Venom's shoulder. "You did everything you could." She whispered.

"That's what they all say."

Hawthorn walked back outside to see a very nervous-looking group of fairies. With a sigh, she shook her head. "He did everything he could..." She said, he voice incredibly quiet.

They all suddenly flinched as they heard Redleaf's anguished cry and Hawthorn closed her eyes, her hands balling into fists. Venom emerged from the home and closed the door behind him. "I think we should give him some time... I don't know the fairy very well, but something tells me he was... close. To her."

/ / /

He continued to hold her hand, refusing to let her go. She was dead, but deep down, he just couldn't accept it,  _wouldn't_  accept it!

The tears had long since stopped, but his shoulders were still shaking with controlled sobs. There was a dull ache in his legs, but he didn't care. He almost didn't feel it. All that he was focused on was her.

"I'm so sorry..." He said, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I never thought... I didn't mean for this to happen to you."

When Redleaf lifted his head to look at her, he almost began to cry again. "Why was it you? Why couldn't it have been me?" He asked, shaking his head. "You didn't deserve to die like that. You didn't deserve to die at all! You have done so much for others, cared so much for other people, you rarely thought for yourself. You were so good, so  _pure_. You had no faults."

With a defeated sigh, he gently kissed the back of her hand and then took it in both of his hands, resting his forehead against them. "I desperately wish I told you this before, Flora. But I'm hoping that, somehow, you can hear my now as I say this..." Taking a deep, quivering breath, he uttered the three words that he never thought he'd ever say. "I love you."

"What...?"

Redleaf laughed slightly. "I said that I love you."

Her hand squeezed his and he suddenly gasped, his head shooting up and his eyes widened with shock.

Flora was looking at him. She was  _looking_  at  _him_. Her eyes were open, and they were grey! They weren't that blasted red or milky white, they were grey! "Flora!" He shouted.

Before she could say anything else, he gathered her up as best as he could in his position and pulled her in for a deep, passionate kiss. Although surprised at his outburst, it was not entirely unwelcome. She was warm. Her lips were actually warm, her whole body was warm! She was  _alive_!

Redlead broke their kiss and laughed jubilantly, fiercely hugging her. "Flora, you're alive! Oh, thank the stars, you're alive!"

"Of course I am, Red..." She said, weakly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"What's all the ruckus in here?!"

With a wide smile on his lips, he shouted, "Flora is alive!"

" _How_?!"

Hawthorn burst into the room and her jaw hung down at the sight before her. Freckles was awake. Either that, or Hawthorn was dreaming. "Freckles, you're-" She jumped up excitedly. "Oh, thank Neverland!" She suddenly dashed out from the room and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Everyone! Freckles is back! She's alive!"

Flora chuckled. "Why is everyone acting this way? Why wouldn't I be alive?"

Redleaf laughed and kissed her warm, soft lips. "Why does it matter, Flora? You're here!"

She laughed along with him and kissed him back, tenderly placing her hand on his neck. "Red?"

"Yes, little flower?"

She planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "What you said... is it true? Do you really...?

He pushed back to face her, his eyes staring deeply into hers. Once again, he was suddenly scared to admit it. Why was it so much harder to admit it now?! Placing that fear aside, he smiled and brushed back her bangs. "I love you, Flora. With every inch of my heart. Nothing will  _ever_  change that."

Her eyes filled with tears and she sniffled, a small smile on her face. "I love you, too. Fully and wholly."

He kissed her then, holding her tightly in his arms, never wanting to let go. With the admittance of his love for her, and knowing that his love was returned equally, it felt as if an enormous weight was lifted from both his shoulders and his heart. When they had first kissed, when they first had started their relationship, he thought he had felt whole. No, that wasn't wholeness. Wasn't even close to it!

This here, this absolutely precious moment, this... this was whole. He felt complete, he felt love and was loved. He felt a joy he never thought he'd ever feel.

For once in his entire life, for once in hundreds of years, he felt like there was something more than to what he had been. He felt that there was far more to live for. And that one thing, was a human named Flora.

"Could you two maybe stop trading saliva...?"

"Hawthorn,  _out_!" They both shouted.


	23. Two Packs, One Victor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the plague gone and their love finally being confessed, Flora and Redleaf are ready to face whatever challenges may come their way. However that does not entirely mean they are prepared, as Jax has finally broken the truce and he and his pack are intent on one thing; feasting.

Venom had requested that Flora rest for about a day in his clinic so he could monitor her and make sure the plague wouldn't try to come back. In the meantime, she and Redleaf had talked about many things, mainly about the journey she had missed whilst she was, in her words, 'half out of her mind'.

Of course, Redleaf barely had the heart to tell her about Missy's fate, but if he didn't then someone else would and he'd rather have her hear it from him. She would find out sooner or later.

He had thought she would cry, or at the very least wish to be left alone after hearing the news. But he had underestimated her emotional strength. Her lip had quivered for the briefest of moments before she let out a sigh. "I figured as much, really... dreams are wondrous things, you know."

He tilted his head to the side. "How do you mean?"

"I was dreaming. A lot." She explained. "I'm also getting brief and minor flashes of memories when I was awake. Or... I think I was awake. Either way, I had dreamed about Missy. She... had died, but not in a cave. In a sense, I guess my dreams were preparing me."

"You believe that dreams can do that?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes they can. Sometimes they don't. But this time, I think they were."

A small knock came from outside the room and Venom came in with a small cup in his hands. "I figured that you would need something to eat." He said.

Flora's eyes widened slightly, but she sat up and took the cup. "Not to sound rude, but, are you a mutant?"

Venom flashed a toothy grin. "Yup. Lizard-type."

"I thought you would've been a snake-type."

He shook his head. "No, snake-types don't have bones coming from their wings," he lowered one scaly wing down and in front of him, showing off the protruding bone. "And they don't have double-jointed knees. They use their wings to crawl along the ground, hence why there's no bones on their wings."

She tilted her head to the side. "Interesting."

The mutant chuckled. "Alright, class is over. You should probably eat. Keep your strength up."

She looked into her cup.  **Eat?...**  "Soup in a cup?" She asked.

"I was out of spoons. There's no big chunks of potatoes or anything, so just sip it." And with that, Venom disappeared behind the curtain.

Flora took a little sip of the soup, licking at her lips. "This tastes a lot like cream of mushroom soup."

"'Cream of mushroom'?" Redleaf asked.

She took another sip. "It was something my mother always used to make. It was my fathers' favourite soup after a long day at work."

He smiled at her, a tenderness in his eyes. "You never once have spoken ill about your father; he sounds like a good man."

She nodded. "Yes. Although he would sometimes have moments, arguing with mother or he had a stressful day at work, never once had he raised his voice at me. I spent so much time with him, for as long as I can remember. Most likely ever since I could walk."

"I would've loved to meet him. You said he spoke to fairies, once?"

She nodded again, swallowing more of her soup. "He never told me who it was, but he talked with some fairies. And, of course, fairies love children. That's probably why they allowed him to have some Pixie Dust."

Redleaf was suddenly confused. He was certain that, especially since it was for a human, that the Queen would've known about it. And he was certain that the Ministers would've known about it as well, had some sort of meeting. Either the Queen never mentioned it, or there was some sort of gap in her story. He wasn't calling Flora a liar, but there was something off about what she was telling him. "Flora, did he happen to say what kind of fairies gave him the dust?"

She was about to take another sip of her soup before she suddenly halted. Her brows furrowed and her head tilted slightly to the side. "Well, now that I think about it, no. Although he had told me that there are different fairies, he never really mentioned which fairies gave him dust. Why do you ask?"

The Minister hesitated, unsure if he should continue. This could be something sensitive. Or it could be a misunderstanding. "Well, if a human were to be asking for Pixie Dust, I'm certain that such a large amount wouldn't go unnoticed by Queen Clarion. I have been a Minister for quite some time, and it would've been brought to our attention as well."

Flora thought back to when her father had given her the dust. He had told her that he asked for Pixie Dust from the fairies. But that was it. She then thought back to when he had been teaching her about Pixie Dust. "Does Pixie Dust have a sort of expiration date?" She asked. "Does it only last for a certain amount of time?"

"Yes, actually." He replied. "It can last for quite some time, but without the Pixie Dust Tree, I'm afraid it can 'fade out' in a sense. If this is the case, all it takes is a small amount of Pixie Dust, freshly taken from the Tree, to revive it."

She took a final sip of her soup and set the cup on the small table behind her. "Red, I think this might explain some things."

"What things?"

"Think!" She exclaimed. "My father gave me a small sized jar of Pixie Dust. As you said, that amount wouldn't have gone unnoticed by the Queen or the Ministers. I do recall him saying to me 'remember to give this to your own child, some day'. What if my father had a that jar handed down to him from his own mother or father?"

"But Queen Clarion would still be ruling. She has been for over three centuries, after the war happened."

This made Flora think. She would, technically, be the seventeenth generation of Harrison's. Each family generation was about twenty to thirty years. Seventeen generations would be over four-hundred years. Before Clarion was ruling Pixie Hollow. "Red, how long did Queen Natise and Lord Adrian rule for?"

Redleaf's wings fluttered and his brows furrowed. He wasn't the greatest when it came to ancient history. "Perhaps... maybe around five or six-hundred years. Why?"

"What if my father wasn't the first one to have that jar of Pixie Dust?" She proposed. "After all, I doubt that my father started to just believe in fairies all on his own. He had to have some sort of inspiration! Maybe that's why he told me to give it to my own children; to continue that belief! After all, lots of fairies do tend to fade because of disbelief."

"A plausible idea, I suppose. But wouldn't he have told you?"

"He probably wanted to, but he was away at the war. When he got back, it wasn't too long after he got home that he... passed." She cleared her throat. "He probably wanted to tell me more, but I guess he didn't have the time."

He understood. There was only so much that one man could tell his children and, if it were true that the dust had been passed down for generations, he most likely knew that children were what kept fairies alive. It was important to make sure that children always believed in fairies. Although adult humans gave off almost no life force, even if they strongly believed in fairies, they were still also essential to keeping fairies alive. They were what kept the belief going by telling their own children about fairies.

Redleaf placed his hand over hers, gently squeezing it. "I'm certain that your father-"

" _Back off_ ,  _fur-bags_!"

Their heads shot up as they heard Hawthorn shout. This wasn't one of her 'wake-up call' type shouts, it was a warning one. Flora suddenly swung her legs over the cot and stood. "What's going on, out there?"

Redleaf quickly stood alongside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're still recovering from the plague, Flora, you should stay here!"

She sniffed. "I'm not weak, I should be fine."

Before he could protest further, she suddenly dashed out from the small room, hiding just underneath a window. Redleaf followed suit and hid underneath the window next to Flora. She peeked over the edge of the window to see that everyone had suddenly taken a defensive stance. "Who are those mutants?" Flora whispered.

He then looked over the window, wondering what she was talking about. His eyes fell onto the familiar figure of Jax and he gasped, quickly ducking back under the window.

"What?" Flora hissed.

"We encountered those mutants before," he replied, "and they are not the most pleasant people. They are wolf-types, and apparently, they haven't eaten in a fair amount of time."

"How did you fend them off?" She asked, almost disbelievingly.

"We didn't. They let us go but their Alpha, Jax, said they wouldn't hold the truce for long. I just thought they would give us more time..."

"We don't see the human. Or the tall fairy." They heard Jax say, his sentence ending with a snarl. "Where are they?"

"They're not here, so back off!" Hawthorn threatened.

A pause, then, "You're lying. I smell them all over you!"

Flora crawled over to Redleaf. "We need to do something!"

"Like what?" He hissed at her. "There are more of them then there are of us. The rest are most likely hiding!"

"We just need to get rid of their Alpha, yeah?"

"Don't you go getting any ideas! Wolf-types are vicious!"

They suddenly heard a chorus of growls and snarls, presumably the rest of the pack revealing themselves. "If you won't give us the human," Jax snarled, "then I guess the rest of you will have to do!"

That was enough! She wouldn't continue to hide while the rest of her friends got hurt. Before Redleaf could stop her, Flora quickly stood and pushed the door open, almost tripping down the stairs and onto the lily pad. "Oy, I'm right here! Don't go getting all violent!" She shouted.

Redleaf, having stood to try and stop her, was standing in the doorway and grimaced as Jax snapped his head towards Flora, his eyes darting between the two. "Well, looks like you made it safe and sound. I'm surprised the plague didn't kill you sooner." He stated.

Flora shrugged casually. "Well, I've been told I'm a strong woman. I can pull through quite a lot."

Jax nodded to the hut. "Anyone else in there?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, just us two."

Getting down on all fours, Jax sprinted to the young human, standing directly in front of her. His eyes not straying from hers, she could hear as he sniffed at the air around her. His eyes narrowed as he gave one final sniff. "You're surprisingly honest-"

"You will not harm her!" Redleaf growled at the mutant. Jax only sighed and snapped his fingers.

Luna, his second-in-command, immediately used her wings to dash over to the Minister, knocking him off his feet. Out of instinct, everyone reacted to the sudden attack. Jax quickly grabbed Flora and held his claws to her throat. "One more move, not only will I gut her open, but my pack will be unleashed and you'll all be dead!"

Everyone froze as the pack growled at them. Luna dragged Redleaf back to the group of fairies, snapping harshly at Lilith as she approached the Minister. Lilith didn't back down and kept her blade in her hand, quickly urging Redleaf behind her. "You may have a pack, but we have a beast with us-"

She was cut off as Fiona suddenly yelped and jumped up onto her hind legs, quickly backing away from the wolf mutant that now had a small patch of fur in his mouth. Jax chuckled. "More like a frightened little kitten."

Flora huffed. She had had absolutely enough of this nonsense! She was tired of being the constant victim, or the damsel in distress. She was annoyed with these bloody mutants, and she was  _especially_  annoyed with Jax! With a small growl, Flora elbowed the mutant in the groin, making him huff and double over in pain, whining and whimpering much like a kicked dog. Luna was quick to respond, falling onto all fours and charging after her. But Flora was ready for the swift attack, and deftly dodged the mutant as she pounced. She then delivered a swift elbow down onto Luna's spine, making her fall to the ground. Flora looked to the other wolf mutants with a huff. "Good lord, you're all such annoying creatures!"

One mutant growled. "Why you little-" She suddenly grabbed a knife from her belt and threw it at the human, who quickly dashed out of the way.

Seeing that the rest of the mutants were distracted, Lilith let out a war-like cry and threw herself onto one of them. Raven, Wolfgang and Hawthorn were all quick to follow, and started attacking the rest of the pack. Lord Milori, Redleaf and Hyacinth all stood, almost helpessly, in a group. "What do we do?" Hyacinth asked.

They heard a vicious bark and saw a wolf mutant pouncing towards them, fangs bared and claws extended, ready to kill anything that got into his grasp.

In that moment, a sudden instinct kicked into gear in the back of Redleaf's mind. He could barely remember the last time he had felt it, that urge to survive, to protect. He grabbed at the red sash that was wrapped around his waist with his hands, pulling it off to reveal his red ribbons. It wasn't much, but it would have to do!

Whipping one of the ribbons, it snapped around the wrist of the mutant. With a harsh pull, Redleaf threw the mutant off to the side and into the water, the ribbon easily slipping off its wrist. He huffed and ran straight into the scuffle, performing a backflip before whipping another ribbon at a mutant's ankles, pulling it down along with him.

Milori and Hyacinth stared disbelievingly at the Minister of Autumn as he continued to fight alongside the Dark Fairies. Where had he learned to do that? And when?

The Lord of Winter was suddenly tackled to the ground by Luna, who barked and snapped her jaw at his face. He managed to fend her off, pushing back at her with his arm. He struggled to keep those snapping jaws at bay, turning his head away from her. "Pathetic fairy!" She growled.

He kicked at her with his legs, immediately pushing her from him. She made a quick recovery and placed herself on all fours, growling and snarling at him. As he stood, he warily watched the mutant as she circled around him, her teeth looking almost dangerously sharp. Her eyes... they disturbed him. They almost weren't normal, almost beastly. Milori then recalled what Lilith had told Redleaf; mutants had two instincts. They could often give in to their more beastly natures. Jax's pack hadn't eaten in a fair while, so it was most likely that Luna was giving into her instinct to hunt. To find something to eat.

The wolf mutant licked at her lips. "Your trip is futile, little fairy." She growled. "You'll never make it past the Gulch."

With a bark, Luna lunged forward, snapping at his ankles as he backed away. Milori couldn't fly away. Well, he  _could_ , but mutants still had their wings as well. Luna could easily follow him and overpower him. His strength was still on the ground, and not in the air.

"Your Queen has probably forgotten you!" Luna laughed. "I've heard our master is quite charming."

His brows furrowed in confusion. How did she know all of this? She was never there, and she had only just met their group. How did she know all of this information?

Seeing he was distracted, Luna lunged at him again. The lily pad they were on was somewhat slippery for wolf paws, and she had lost some of her footing. Her claws just scratched at his cheek, making the sparrow man cry out in pain.

Milori held a hand to his cheek, a warm liquid dripping through his fingers. He removed his hand to look at it. He was bleeding. The blasted mutant cut him deep enough to actually make him bleed! He could barely remember the last time someone had made him bleed.

"Red and white suits you, I think." Luna chuckled darkly. "Just need a little more red to finish it up..."

Wiping the crimson liquid off onto his shirt, Milori glared daggers at the mutant. "I dare you to try..." He glowered.

Luna laughed, almost sounding like a mix of a howl and a bark. "Gladly."

This time she readjusted her hind paws before lunging at the sparrow man again, this time intent on killing. Milori was prepared and, with a determined huff, he ducked underneath the mutant and grabbed at her ankles, throwing her down to the ground. Luna shook her head, much like a dog would, her fluffy ears slapping against her head. She then turned so she was on her back. "Oh, you don't know when to quit, do you?"

"I know perfectly well when to quit. Do you?" He asked, gesturing around them.

Luna looked around to see the majority of the pack was gone. Most likely ran off after getting hurt. She didn't see any sign of Jax, either. Where was he?

Her eyes suddenly filled with panic as she looked back up to the Lord of Winter. Getting back onto her feet, she suddenly took off across the bog, occasionally slipping on the various lily pads.

The rest of the pack quickly took off after the second-in-command, seeing that their Alpha also wasn't present. The group of fairies cheered in victory and Flora and Redleaf hugged each other in excitement. "Off they go with their tails between their legs!" Venom exclaimed. "They should know better than to attack anyone at  _my_  home!"

Flora laughed breathlessly, looking up to Redleaf. "Where did you learn to do that? With the ribbons?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, giving a short laugh of his own. "It was the only thing I had."

Raven suddenly slapped the Ministers' back, making the breath leave his lungs. "Not bad, Tall Boy." He complimented. "You too, Freckles. I guess learning to fight on the Mainland payed off!"

Lord Milori approached the group. "Where's Hyacinth?" He asked.

"Over here, Frostbite!" Hawthorn stated, giving the Minister a pat on the shoulder. "He did pretty well, too. I guess all it took for you three to get it together was just a little nudge. As Lilith said, that instinct is still in your heads. It just needed a wake up call."

Lilith wiped away the blood that was on her blade before putting it back into its sheath. "Looks like Tall Boy was the one to find his fighting style, though."

Venom approached Milori, tilting his head off to the side. "These claw marks are going to scar." He said, quickly pulling a vial from out of his satchel and a small cloth.

Flora gasped. "You're hurt? What happened?!"

"Luna just scratched me, is all." He explained, hissing slightly as Venom applied the cloth to the wounds. "But she also said some interesting things."

"And what would that be?" Wolfgang asked.

"She somehow knows about our journey. She also knows about Clarion. She also said something about their 'master'."

Silence fell upon the group as they all looked at one another. Fiona growled and tilted her head to the side.

"Fiona  _did_  smell something out of the ordinary with the mutants." Hyacinth translated, gently stroking at Charlie's neck. "It was a strong scent."

Flora looked up to the giant cat. "Do you know what the scent was? Specifically?"

She shook her head with a small mewl.

"Could it be that we were being spied on?" Milori asked. Venom suddenly applied another cloth to his cheek, making him glare. "Would you get that off my face?"

Venom sniffed, but he complied. "Mutants, although we do not have a necklace, can still be loyal to the master. There is a slight chance that they were working for them."

"Maybe that;s why they wanted Freckles in the first place." Raven speculated.

"I wouldn't put it past them." Venom replied. "I've met them, before. Most deceptive pack of wolves I've ever met. Also the most loyal. I think Jax might have been the master's general, at one point."

"How would you know?"

Venom looked to Redleaf and tapped the side of his head. "Not all memories are lost. He has a familiar face, and a war-like aura around him. Us lizard-types can sense that kind of stuff."

Lilith sighed heavily, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, either way, if the wolf-mutants know about our journey, I'm certain we'll be meeting more people along the way who want us dead. But that is not going to deter us; we will keep going, for everyone's sake."

"I can come with you." Venom offered. "I have to leave Misty Creek to gather more medical supplies, and I know some of the areas that you'll be travelling in. Besides, you need someone with medical experience."

"The more, the merrier!" Hawthorn exclaimed. "Just don't expect us to carry you once we get to Glacier Mountain."

Venom rolled his eyes. "I'm not cold blooded, you twit!"

"Sure, whatever you say."


	24. Ice and Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Jax and his pack taken care of, Flora and the rest of the group must travel to the Glacier Mountains. Although there is beauty in the mountains, there can also be a great danger.

With the final crisis handled and taken care of, they all finally took off to continue their journey to the Dark Fairy Nest. Flora, now without her flying companion, had no choice but to ride with Redleaf (not that she really minded, of course). Before they left, Venom had checked on everyone to make sure none of them suffered any wounds or sores from the fight. Wolf-types could easily have rabies, he explained.

He was a friendly mutant, and not only that, but helpful. Hawthorn had said it was rare to find honest mutants like him.

When Flora was about to climb up onto Fiona, Redleaf had placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps you should ride her."

She stared disbelievingly. "I don't know how to ride... mammals."

He smiled. "Never too late to learn, my dear."

Of course, after some mental deliberation, Flora decided to ride Fiona. Of course, riding a mammal would take some getting used to, but she was a quick learner.

They just started off with a walk, of course. Redleaf informed the rest of the group that he was teaching her to ride Fiona. Lilith had instructed them to just follow the bog path between the trees, and they would be fine.

Fiona was taking it easy on her, of course. She didn't want the little wingless fairy getting scared or fall off, so she made sure to pay extra attention in case they needed to stop.

Redleaf had his hands over Flora's as she gripped the reins, almost in a soft caress. "Ease your hands unless we're running, Flora." He said, his breath warm against her ear.

Flora breathed in, catching the faint scent of cinnamon. "It's a nervous habit, I suppose. Something new, a little nerve-wracking, and it's just-"

Her sentence was cut short as she felt his soft lips on her shoulder, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Subconsciously, her grip on the reins slackened. She could feel a smile on his lips. "There. All you need to do is relax."

She sighed contentedly, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "I think I know why you wanted to come out here early, now..."

Another soft kiss. "Oh?" His hands slipped away from hers and traveled up her arms, down her sides and around her waist. "And what would that be?"

"This." She turned her head slightly and captured his lips with her own, making his grip around her tighten slightly. No matter how many times they kissed, it would always feel as electric but also just as sweet as the first one they had shared.

Fiona, annoyed and almost disgusted with the two fairies, growled loudly and imitated a hacking sound. If these two fairies came out here just to be all lovey-dovey, she wanted no part of it.

Redleaf chuckled and Flora rolled her eyes. "I do believe Fiona isn't too impressed with us, my dear."

"I wouldn't be, either!"

They both looked up to see Venom flying above them. "I just flew ahead to see how you two were doing, the others aren't too far behind. If I were you, I wouldn't be displaying your affections too much longer."

Flora, a deep blush on her cheeks, sighed heavily and leaned back against Redleaf. "We never seem to be alone for too long, do we?"

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Not to worry, little flower. I'm certain we shall have more time for ourselves in the future. For now, we should start getting into a light jog."

Her grip tightened once again on the reins and she breathed in sharply. She  _definitely_  wasn't going to like the running...

/ / /

"Lilith, I thought you said it was a two day trip to the Glacier Mountains?!"

Lilith slowed herself so she was flying alongside him. "I said it's a two day trip to  _travel up_  the Glacier Mountains. They're only a few hours from Misty Creek, but it's the traveling up and down the Mountains that takes two days."

Lord Milori suddenly stopped. "We have Warm-Season fairies here."

She face-palmed herself. "Right." She then shouted. "Alright, stop here!"

Flora pulled gently on the reins, bringing Fiona to a complete stop. She looked over her shoulder. "How was that?"

Redleaf smiled. "Very well done, my dear."

He carried her down to the ground and everyone else met them shortly after. Hyacinth shivered and rubbed his arms. "Why is it getting so cold all of the sudden?" He asked.

"Because we're close to Glacier Mountains, Flowers." Raven told him. "We packed a set of warm clothes for each of you, but your wings are going to have to be covered. So, no flying."

Flora looked up to Redleaf, her face riddled with concern. "Two days in the cold," she said. "Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

Hawthorn handed them both a warm set of clothing, composed of smooth animal furs (which Hyacinth was almost repulsed by, judging by the minor complaint they heard). "As long as our wings are covered, we'll be fine."

Flora was quick to pull on the leggings, which surprisingly fit her almost perfectly. The coat didn't have any buttons, so she just had to slip it on over her head. She looked herself over.

It was a nice winter set; the fur was black but with a brown gradient. The coat was nice and snug, but it wasn't  _tight_. Upon checking the pockets, there was a pair of warm finger gloves and some ear muffs. They really went all out, she thought. Redleaf's 'winter attire' was most likely from a fox, considering the fur was almost orange in colour. The collar was black with small tufts of grey. "I think it suits you, Red." She complimented.

Hyacinth's set was brown with small speckles of black and grey. She hated to guess, but it was most likely rabbit fur. He didn't look too pleased with the whole thing, but he knew it would keep him warm.

Raven briefly eyed Flora up and down. "You look pretty good in wolf fur, Freckles. I think the colours suit you."

She chuckled. "Be that as it may, I'm not overly fond of wearing animal fur..."

Anthros warbled and Milori nodded. "He said he'll go and scout ahead, to see if the paths are safe or not."

Wolfgang nodded. "Probably a good idea." He snapped his fingers at Raven. "Go with the bird, Raven. Two is better when going up the Mountains."

The snowy owl took off along with Raven towards the Mountains, leaving the group of fairies behind. Hyacinth stroked Charlie's neck, whispering something in his ear. The dove nodded and chirped, ruffling his feathers slightly.

"Are there any dangers we should know about, Lilith?" Redleaf asked the Dark Fairy. "Aside from the usual when climbing a mountain, of course."

She shrugged. "Not too much. There are some creatures we may or may not have to worry about, but we'll find out once we get up there."

Fiona growled low and Hyacinth's brows furrowed. "She's saying she smells 'family', whatever that means."

The big cat growled again, sitting down in the frost-covered ground and looking down at the Minister of Spring. "I don't know what you mean by family, Fiona!" Hyacinth said. "It could mean more Lynxes, or more big cats."

Hawthorn snorted. "She has a pretty good nose for a Lynx. Yeah, there are other big cats up in the mountains. Snow cats, of course. Snow Leopards, Mountain Lions and Lynxes. But they're spread out along the Mountains and only stick around their specific area." She waved a hand dismissively. "We'll be fine!"

They all gave each other small, uncertain glances. Lord Milori, being the Winter Fairy, already knew what sort of dangers there could be when it came to Winter places. Hawthorn had so kindly left out the fact that there could be wolves up in the Glacier Mountains, but he didn't need to worry everyone else any further. As long as they kept to the path and stuck together they should be fine.

Hopefully.

/ / /

When Flora breathed out, she could see her breath coming out in white puffy clouds. It didn't  _feel_  that cold, really. Then again, it could've just been the clear sky and the sun that kept them warmer than usual as well.

As soon as they got to the colder parts of the Mountains, everyone had taken to walking. Better to stay moving and keep your blood flowing than sitting aorund and freezing yourself. There was a light snowfall, the flakes small and coming down slowly. There was still no signs of Anthros or Raven, but they had to be arriving back shortly. Fiona, who was happy to be back in her more natural home, was pouncing along in the snow, mewling happily and kicking up the snow as she rolled around in it. She was acting a lot like the house cats back in London, Flora thought. Charlie wasn't any different, dipping his head under the snow and then tossing it back onto his wings, flapping them rapidly to shake the flakes off. She knew that whenever birds did that with snow and dirt, it was a way of giving them a bath, but unless she was reading Charlie's smile wrong, he was most likely just playing in the snow rather than bathing in it.

"How are you not cold?" She heard Hyacinth ask.

Wolfgang laughed. "We're Dark Fairies, we're built for the snow."

Lilith smacked his arm and rolled her eyes, brushing the snow out of her short mohawk. "Since our home in the valley is unpredictable with weather, we learn to just grit our teeth and deal with it. That's where we learn our 'adaptation skills'. Of course, most of the time it's colder than normal, so we're used to the cold. Unlike you fairies; you are born in either the warm or cold seasons, and you have to stay there. There's an upside to having feathered wings."

Hawthorn pointed to Venom. "Can't speak for the reptile, though."

The lizard-type narrowed his eyes. "I've said it a million times, I'm not cold blooded!"

Flora snorted and smirked.

"What about you, Frostbite?" Hawthorn asked, looking over her shoulder at Milori. "How do you Winter Fairies work? Are you hot-blooded? What's your body temperature now?"

Flora became very interested in what Milori's response would be. In all the time that she had lived in Pixie Hollow, she never once asked about how different the anatomy of Winter and Warm Season Fairies were.

The Lord of Winter shrugged slightly. "My body temperature is not something I concern myself with unless I'm in the Warm Seasons-"

Hawthorn suddenly slowed her pace until she was walking directly beside Milori. She put a hand to his arm, which he raised an eyebrow to. "You feel warm." She said. "So you Winter Fairies must be hot-blooded."

"I don't know if something like that is possible." Said Flora. "If you're hot blooded, that means that hot blood must constantly be flowing through your veins. Your body would be at a constant fever-pitch if your blood was hot, which his is not."

Redleaf furrowed his brows. "How would you know that?"

"When we visited Dusty." She replied. "After the... when I turned him over to check on him, his body temperature was normal."

Milori crossed his arms and suppressed an annoyed huff. "Perhaps if you would allow me to explain?"

Hawthorn held up her arms in mock-surrender. "Sorry."

"Although I do not concern myself with temperature, that does not mean I don't know basic anatomy." He started. "Winter and Warm Season Fairies are built differently. Both of our body temperatures are normal in our respective seasons, but it's when we cross the border or are in a place in which our bodies cannot withstand normally that our body temperatures will either drop or escalate."

"Does it matter which season you're from?" Flora asked, now extremely interested in the topic. "In the Spring, it is lukewarm most of the time. In the Summer, it's always warm or hot. In Autumn, it's normally lukewarm or cold. Does a fairy's body have more of an immunity or less of one to the Winter season depending on which Warm Season they're from?"

He shook his head. "No, it doesn't. A fairy's body is built for either warm or cold temperatures, and they cannot build an immunity to either one. Much like ice and water. It will either get cold and freeze, or it will get warm and melt. A fairy will either be warm or cold and their temperature will either rise or fall."

Hawthorn's eyebrows raised. "Interesting..." She then looked to Flora.

The group heard a loud trill and they looked up to see Anthros and Raven returning, unharmed. Flora couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They landed in the snow in front of the group. "There's not any dangers that I saw." Raven stated. "But there's a storm coming around. And fast."

"We gathered as much from the snow." Lilith said, brushing her hand through her air once more. "Was there any shelter while you both were patrolling?"

Raven shook his head. "Not that I saw."

Anthros ruffled his feathers and trilled.

Wolfgang tilted his head slightly. "How does anyone understand what these creatures say?"

The snowy owl imitated a huff and, using his wing, threw snow at the Dark Fairy and screeched loudly at him.

Lord Milori, seeing the owl becoming stressed, immediately flew over and stroked the bird on his neck. "What is it?"

Anthros screeched again, although not as loudly and ruffled his feathers once more. "He knows where shelter is." He informed the group.

"That's no reason for him to be getting all worked up." Hawthorn sniffed.

The snowy owl narrowed his eyes at her and gave a low, almost menacing screech. "He also feels like we're being followed." Milori continued. "The shelter is also in a particularly dangerous area, but it's the closest spot if we don't wish to be caught in the storm."

"Where is it?" Lilith asked.

Anthros urged the group onward, flying ahead slightly and hovering in the air, waiting for them to follow.

Fiona and Charlie, who had been listening intently to Anthros, suddenly started to urge their riders to mount them. Fiona nudged at Redleaf and Flora while Charlie practically forced Hyacinth onto him, pushing himself into the Minister's knees until he nearly toppled over.

Venom took off into the air. "Come on, guys. Although I don't trust animals too much, my instincts are telling me that we should listen to them. And I don't want to freeze up in the storm."

"I thought you said you weren't cold-blooded?"

"Shut up, Hawthorn!"

/ / /

Flora held close to Redleaf, shivering at the harsh wind that blew. Even though she was wearing her earmuffs and gloves, they did very little to protect her against the cold.

There wasn't much snow, but it was starting to get worse and worse the more they walked. Anthros had been taking them deeper into the mountains and he barely spoke to them or informed them of how much further the shelter was. Well, either that or Milori wasn't telling them what Anthros was saying. Because of the rising snow, Lilith had thought it was best that Anthros carry the bedrolls in a separate bag so if Fiona somehow fell into the snow, they wouldn't get too soaked.

Speaking of which, where was everyone?

Flora pushed away from Redleaf and looked around. She couldn't see anyone. Where were they?!

"Red?" She shouted over the howling wind.

He looked back. "Yes?"

"I can't see anyone!"

"Neither can I!" Redleaf stated. "But Fiona can!"

The Lynx, without any command from Redleaf, turned sharply off to the left. The Minister of Autumn tugged at the reins. "What are you doing?" He asked the feline.

She didn't respond but continued onward, bowing her head so the snow wouldn't get in her eyes. Neither Flora or Redleaf really understood the creature, but since she was a Winter animal (being more capable in the snow), they trusted her to not get them lost. She continued to step cautiously, turning left and right and occasionally hopping upward or sliding downward.

Just as the snow started to become almost unbearable, the wind stopped and Flora opened her eyes. Her eyes took a few moments to adjust to the change in light, but when they did she saw they were in a cave. Despite the weather outside, it felt moderately warm.

Fiona made a noise that sounded like a sigh and fell onto her belly, mewling her exhaustion. Redleaf patted the creature behind her ears. "Good girl." He praised her.

"Glad to see you all made it in one piece!" Lilith stated.

They looked up to see that everyone else had already made themselves 'at home' in the cave; a fire was started and they were all sitting around it and on top of their bedrolls. Charlie was already fast asleep, a few soft trills could be heard as he breathed (which was the bird-equivalent to snoring). Anthros was fluffed out, providing warmth for Hyacinth, who was already fast asleep.

Redleaf and Flora dismounted from the Lynx and made their way over to the fire. Flora discarded her earmuffs and gloves and sat on top of a bedroll and close to the fire, shivering almost uncontrollably now that the full extent of the cold was being felt in comparison to the warm cavern. "Take off the coat and leggings." Lilith said. "They'll dry off by the time morning comes around."

She was more than happy to oblige, quickly discarding the furry coat and leggings and setting them off to the side. She then brushed out her hair to dispense any snow that may have gotten caught in it. Redleaf soon sat himself beside her, placing his hands close to the flames. When Flora looked up at him, she snorted loudly. He looked down and furrowed his brows. "What?" He asked.

Raven and Hawthorn laughed as well. "Should we start calling  _you_  Frostbite, instead?" She asked.

The more that they chuckled, the more confused he became. "What?" He asked again.

"Your hair, darling." Flora finally responded. "It is completely white with snow!"

Upon taking a few strands and upon inspecting them, Redleaf saw that his hair was, indeed, covered completely in snow. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to rid the dark black locks of the snowflakes. "I should have braided it before we left."

"You know how to braid hair?" Venom asked from across the fire.

He nodded. "You need to when you have long hair. Or should know how to, at least."

Flora looked around the fire and noticed they were missing one person. "Where's Lord Milori?"

Wolfgang pointed towards the entrance of the cave, to which she turned around and saw the Lord of Winter near the mouth of the cave, leaning against the stone wall. His wings were droopy, a clear sign of sorrow or distress. Without even asking, she already knew why he was suddenly sad.

Clarion.

Everything seemed to be working against them, she thought. First she had caught this Fading Plague (which she still couldn't hardly remember), then on the way to Misty Creek (as she had been told) there was a wall of thorns and they lost Missy in the Devil's Mouth. Then Jax and his pack of wolves had tried to take her away and kill whoever tried to stop them, and they somehow know why they were taking their journey. Now there was the Glacier Mountains and this storm that was rolling through.

To everyone else, they would see these things as minor setbacks. But to Lord Milori, it was more and more time being wasted in their journey to the Dark Valley. More and more time away from Clarion.

"I wouldn't bother him right now, lass." Wolfgang whispered. "Just leave the sparrow man be."

Flora sighed but heeded the advice of the Dark Fairy. If Milori was trying to think, or if he just needed to be left alone, then it would be best if she didn't bug him.

Venom, not comfortable with silence (as it turned his senses into overdrive), asked Flora, "So, how were you able to get along so well in Pixie Hollow? I mean, you're a human so I doubt you were able to cope too quickly."

"Well, I had help, really." Flora replied. "Redleaf had shown me around the Autumn Forest and made me feel very welcome from the start. It was easy for me to get along, considering I had a fascination for fairies even before arriving in Pixie Hollow."

The reptile mutant tilted his head to the side. "How do you feel now? Being away from home, I mean."

The human opened her mouth to reply, but she suddenly hesitated. She truly didn't know how she felt. She hadn't been asked that question in so long that she really never considered how she felt about being away from London. Away from her family.

He didn't fail to notice her hesitation. "You don't need to answer if you don't-"

"No, it's alright." She shrugged slightly. "I just haven't really been asked that question for some time, so I never really considered how I feel about being away from London. I guess... I have fond memories of home, but I feel like I belong here more than anything else."

"How?"

"I feel as if I've made a life for myself here." She quickly stated. "I can actually help others, I can make a difference here." She gently grasped Redleaf's hand and looked up at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. He smiled in return. "I have people here who I care for, and people who care for me." A heavy sigh escaped her lips and she turned her attention back to Venom. "Back home... I had almost none of that. Sure, my mother and sister loved me, but I feel as if they didn't truly support me."

Raven shook his head solemnly and crossed his arms. "If you were able to live for so long in a world like that... you truly are a strong woman, Freckles. A real fighter."

Flora smiled at the Dark Fairy. "So I've been told."

Redleaf's eyes narrowed slightly, now suddenly feeling suspicious of the Dark Fairy. He hadn't been too light on the compliments as of late... He released his grip on Flora's hand and wrapped an arm around her, both out of a mild possessiveness and the need to remind Raven as to whom she was with. The action was not lost on Flora. Was he actually  _jealous_?

Wolfgang suddenly stretched out his limbs and his wings, letting out a large yawn. "Well, I think I'm turning in for the evening. The rest of you should do the same as well; we've got a big day ahead tomorrow. Lots of snow and ice to get through."

"Who has first watch?" Hawthorn asked.

"Nobody." Was Lilith's curt response. "Nothing is getting through that snowstorm. We should all get our sleep in because something tells me we might not get another chance at some decent sleep."

As everyone tucked themselves in, Flora couldn't help but look back at Lord Milori, who still stood near the cave entrance. Redleaf, noting her minor distress, gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Don't worry, little flower. He'll come to sleep whenever he's ready."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling slightly into his chest. Although it wasn't the sleep she was entirely worried about, there was no sense in placing any of her distress upon the Minister. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you, too."


	25. Blue Ice and Blue Feathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There can be a great beauty to the Glacier Mountains, but with beauty there is always a danger. Will they be able to make it out alive, or will they die trying?

Why did snow always have to be so blindingly white? Why couldn't there be some colours thrown in with all of that white; maybe some greens, or some reds or purples, maybe even a nice pink or maroon!

Well, then again, there was a beauty to snow; the way the sun reflected off of the snowflakes, how it gleamed and sparkled like crystals. The icy ridges and walls they passed through would glow and shine, much like the way diamonds would. It was truly beautiful when there wasn't anything trying to get them killed.

There was also some fun that could come with snow.

Flora leaned down and gathered a small pile of the soft snow in her hands and moved her hands around it, forming it into an almost perfect ball. Redleaf raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you going to do with that?"

She handed that snowball to him and then leaned down and picked up some more snow. "Just watch." She told him.

After the snow was rounded into a ball, she carefully picked out who would be her victim. Everyone was walking because there was still an extremely cold air because of the previous evening's snowstorm, so everyone was walking to keep their blood moving so they would stay warm. It was also handy, because if anyone was flying, there would be problems with what she wanted to do.

Finally having picked her target, Flora stretched her arm back and, with a small smile, threw the snowball.

Being a scout really payed off, because her exceptional aim had lead to the snowball smashing directly into the back of Lord Milori's head. The Winter fairy immediately stopped and snapped his head around, his glare being evident of his displeasure.

Flora feigned a surprised and innocent face and then pointed to Redleaf, who was still holding the one snowball in his hand. The Minister's brows furrowed and he looked down at Flora. The instant he saw her pointing, he attempted to voice his innocence. "I did not do that!"

The Lord of Winter quickly picked up snow in his hands, raising his eyebrows at the Minister of Autumn. "Then why do you have another snowball in your hand?"

"She gave it to me!"

Flora suppressed a giggle and backed away. "You're going to get it..." She told him in a sing-song voice.

In an attempt to defend himself, Redleaf threw the snowball that had been given to him. Milori dodged the rounded snow with ease and, as a result, the snowball hit Hawthorn's back. She immediately turned and glared, her brown wings spreading in annoyance.

Flora immediately started gather more snow in her hands, preparing herself for the battle to come.

Hawthorn, thinking it had been Flora who threw the snowball, gathered snow in her own hands and smiled almost evilly. "So, you want a snowball fight? It's a snowball fight you'll get!"

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't we be moving?"

Wolfgang couldn't help the small smile that spread on his lips. "Come on, darling." He scooped some snow into the bow of his wing. "They're just wanting to have a wee bit of fun."

He dumped the snow over Lilith's head and she froze, turning her head to look at him. "'A wee bit of fun', eh?" She suddenly scooped some snow into her own hands. "Alright, let's have some fun!"

Without warning, she threw the snowball at Venom, who immediately retaliated and threw a snowball right back, which only resulted in hitting Raven. Soon enough, everyone was joining into the snowball fight, taking cover behind snowy ridges or behind the animals (much to Charlie's disdain).

Although Hyacinth was attempting to avoid joining in the snowball fight, the times he  _did_  throw a snowball, he was an amazingly crack-shot and he never missed his target!

Flora, who had ran across the area to reach a taller ridge, slipped on some ice and ended up sliding into the back of Raven's legs, which caused him to fall backwards and slide along with her. With the both of them being vulnerable, they suddenly became snowball-magnets and Raven ended up using his wings to shield them from the snowball attack!

"Alright, we give!" Raven shouted.

"Are you sure?" Wolfgang called out. "I think snowballs seem to like you two!"

Flora raised her hands and moved away from Raven. "No, I'm fine!"

Under their combined weight, the ice beneath Flora and Raven cracked, almost as if in protest. The cracks spread around them, the lines thickening the further away the moved. They both froze in their places, not wanting to upset the ice any further.

Lilith didn't fail to notice their distress. She walked out from behind her cover, dropping the snowball. "What's wrong?"

Raven waved his wing at her, making her stop instantly. "Stay back!" He hissed. "Thin ice!"

"Just fly!" Hawthorn suggested.

Flora shook her head. "No, because then the weight will be shifted to me! I don't know what's under there, but I don't know if I want to find out."

"We could lift both of you at the same time, maybe."

Wolfgang looked around, scoping their surroundings. They were in an area that had tall ice walls. Of course, the snow covered up what could possibly be icy grounds as well. If the ice was thin enough to crack underneath Raven and Flora, then there was no chance that the beast would be able to pass safely. There was also no telling just how far the ice stretched out. He shook his head. "Possible, but not recommended. We don't know where the ice ends."

Fiona, who had been laying down and covering her face, mewled and moved to stand up. Immediately, the muffled sounds of cracking ice could be heard underneath the snow, making the big cat freeze with uncertainty.

"Nobody move!" Lilith shouted. "Nobody flies, either!"

This got very grim very fast, Flora thought. First they were having a grand time participating in a snowball fight, and now they were  _literally_  treading on thin ice.

Venom had his wings spread and his arms out. "What do we do?" He asked.

Lilith thought; the majority of them had been behind cover, which they were now out and in front of. Nothing cracked underneath them there, so there was a chance the ice was thicker. Or, if they moved, it could cause the ice to crack even further. "I don't know." She said. "I don't know where the rest of the ice is."

A sudden gust of wind blew and the sheet of snow that once covered the ice was now moved, giving everyone the full extent in which the ice reached. "That should help..." Redleaf stated.

"I forgot you could do that!" Said Flora.

"Not a time to be happy, Freckles." Hawthorn said. "The ice spreads a fair distance, Lily..."

"I see that."

"What do we do?"

"I don't know!"

"Break the ice."

"What?!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Lord Milori flinched slightly but remained in his place. "We're in a mountain," the Lord of Winter explained. "I doubt there's water underneath this ice. If you listen closely as the ice cracks, you can hear echoes; it's most likely a cave underneath us."

"You wanna test that theory, Frostbite?" Raven seethed. "Because I sure don't!"

His chest puffed up slightly and he suddenly looked determined. "I just might."

His foot shifted and as more ice cracked, everyone's hands flew up and they shouted at Milori to not move. Even Anthros was screeching at him. Fiona, in an attempt to stop the sparrow man from moving, stood up and growled.

Everyone grew deathly silent as the ice groaned loudly in protest under the large feline's weight. Everyone's head turned to see the cracks in the ice spreading widely, cracking and splitting as they reached and connected with the cracks underneath their feet.

The ice broke.

Several cries and screams broke out as they all fell, some trying to regain their balance whilst others clawed at the air, attempting to grab at  _anything_  to break their fall.

The birds were the first to hit the ground and, seeing that the majority of the fairies were unable to regain their balance in the air, did their best to catch them. Charlie had immediately caught Hyacinth, who had immediately clung tight to the bird as if he was the last thing floating in the middle of the ocean. Flora and Redleaf had both landed on Anthros, both too stunned to move.

Venom, Raven, Lilith and Wolfgang had all managed to regain their balance in the air, flying down to meet with everyone else. "Where's Frostbite?" Lilith asked.

"Right here." He replied, brushing off some snow and ice from his shoulders. It looked like he hadn't been able to catch himself in the air, if the already-forming bruise on his arm was any indication, but he didn't look to be in any severe pain.

Redleaf helped Flora get off of Anthros' belly and brushed back her bangs, gently grasping her shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "No, just a bit startled..."

The group heard a distressed growl and they looked up to see a very upset Fiona, who was standing at the edge of the massive hole where the ice used to be. She most likely jumped back before the ice broke, Flora thought.

"Don't worry, you big puffball!" Hawthorn called to her. "We're coming right up!"

Fiona growled loudly, then, her ears flat against her head. Hyacinth approached the Dark Fairy and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Something doesn't smell right to her, Hawthorn. I think she wants us to stay down here."

Hawthorn snorted. "Come on, Flowers; it's the quickest way to go!" And with that, she flew back up towards the ceiling of the icy cavern. Fiona immediately reacted, almost roaring in protest at the Dark Fairy.

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but immediately hesitated as the ice above her suddenly started to grow back into place.  _Literally_. "What the-?"

" _Dark Magic_!" Wolfgang shouted.

With a sharp gasp Hawthorn quickly dashed back to the ground, panic clear and apparent in her movements. As she returned to the icy floor, the ice above formed back into place, leaving a very frustrated and frightened Fiona on the surface and a group of fairies stranded down below.

Lilith shook her head, despair apparent in her eyes. "This isn't good..."

Raven, who had his hands behind his head and was pacing a few feet away from them, snapped, "We're trapped down here, Lilith! Of course it isn't good!"

"Shut up!" She roared.

Venom quickly stepped in in an attempt to diffuse their tempers before they got worse. "Look, I don't know what the problem is. Okay, someone may be trying to keep us from leaving the Mountains-"

"This isn't the first time this has happened!" Wolfgang informed him. "On the way to the Creek, there was a wall of thorns that blocked our path! We had to take the Devil's Mouth; somebody is on to us and is determined to keep us from reaching the nest! Or at least delay us from getting there."

Hawthorn's wings flapped irritably. "I knew we shouldn't have let those wolf mutants go! Should've just killed them instead!"

As the Dark Fairies argued among on another, Hyacinth, Lord Milori, Redleaf and Flora talked among themselves.

"Lord Milori, you said that the one wolf mutant, Luna, knows about our journey? Do you think she and the rest of the wolf mutants could have informed their Master of our travel?"

The Lord of Winter nodded at the human. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

Flora sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "Why is this happening to us?" She asked herself.

Charlie warbled gently and nuzzled into Flora's stomach, a calming gesture. She sighed and stroked his head. "If this cave was made with Dark Magic, I have no doubt that whoever created this made it so there was no escape."

Hyacinth sniffed. "Rather counterproductive, if you ask me. We have rations, Dust and plenty of warmth sources."

"It still doesn't mean much, Hyacinth." Redleaf stated. "If their plan is to kill us, we will die eventually."

"Red, darling, remember that 'prophecy'?" Flora asked. "They need me alive. Kyto most likely took Clarion so we would follow him. As Hyacinth said, it's rather counterproductive of them to trap us here."

She started to look around the massive ice cave, searching for any signs of an escape route. If it's Dark Magic, we can't melt the ice with anything, she thought. But there's always some sort of flaw in their magic.

She started thinking back to back in Pixie Hollow, when the Dark Fairies were first attacking. There was Dark Dust left on the necklaces, and although it was 'dead' Dark Dust, it still had no effect on her. Even the 'live' Dust that had been used in the attempt to kill Queen Clarion had no effect on her. Back before reaching Misty Creek with the wall of thorns, when Wolfgang broke a thorn it grew back and, although she was not conscious when it had happened, Flora had no doubt that it may have went differently if she were to have been the one to break the thorn.

All of these happenings boiled down to one central thought.

Flora suddenly approached the group of arguing Dark Fairies. "Oy, Wolfgang!"

They all instantly stopped and turned their eyes to the human. "What is it, lass?" He asked.

"What were to happen if any Dark Fairy or fairy were to touch or break anything infused with Dark Magic?"

The Dark Fairy shrugged with his wings and crossed his arms. "Depends on the magic. But, if I'm not wrong, if any fairies or Dark Fairies were to break the ice, it would merely grow back before we could escape and it would grow back thicker."

"What about the creatures here in Pixie Hollow?"

"Same results." He quickly stated. "Don't ask how I know."

"How does that work?" She asked him.

Venom quickly stepped in. "You see, it's a matter of being touched with certain kinds of Dust or magic." He explained. "Creatures, fairies, Dark Fairies, even Pixies are all touched with some sort of magic or Dust. Sometimes, Dark Magic is made for specific people or creatures as well."

Flora's idea immediately was thrown out of the window. She had been treated with Pixie Dust back in Pixie Hollow. "So, if I were to break the ice, then, the results would be the same."

The mutant hesitated. "Not entirely... see, you are human and although there are humans here in Pixie Hollow, you didn't grow up surrounded by magic and Pixie Dust."

Raven, who had once again began to pace, growled loudly and flapped his wings impatiently. "It doesn't matter! This is just one massive dome of magically-infused ice! I see no way out and, unless Freckles gains some sort of power or massive strength to break this ice, there is no way out of this! Besides, they probably made it so she can't even break it, either!"

They all went silent then, realizing that Raven had a point. Flora wasn't exactly the strongest of people and there wasn't much she could use to break the ice in the first place. And since the Dark Fairies knew she was with the group, the most likely  _did_  have it so the magic prevented her from doing anything to the ice.

"Look, Raven is right." Hawthorn said quietly, her wings drooping. "I don't see a way out of this. We're trapped here and our rations will last us only for so long... I think... we might be done."

"What do you mean, 'done'?"

"It means that we are going to die here, Flowers!" She snapped at the Minister. "Either that, or we'll be captured and Flora will have to fulfill that 'prophecy', along with the rest of you; whichever comes first."

As everyone looked to one another, the full weight of the situation finally settled on their hearts. Even the birds seemed to be almost depressed by the news, exchanging sad looks with one another.

This can't be it, Flora thought. We can't be done, this can't be over!

"No..."

Redleaf held his love close, a strong arm wrapping around her small frame. "Flora, love, I think-"

"No!" She said again, this time with more conviction. "My father always told me that there was always way to work around things! I was never to give up, never to back down, and I was  _never_  to quit!"

"I don't think you father knew that you would be involved with Dark Magic, Freckles." Lilith said.

The human glared venomously at her. "I'm not just thinking about myself, Lilith!" She gestured to the Lord of Winter, who appeared distraught. "I'm thinking about him; he lost his love once, twice now, and we have come so far,  _too far_ , to give up now! We have to  _try_!"

"What good will it do?" Hawthorn asked, her droopy wings shrugging slightly.

"Would you rather die knowing you did nothing to change anything about your situation? Or would you rather die knowing you actually tried to find a way, that you fought to the very end, instead of sitting around and doing nothing?"

Charlie chirped loudly and ruffled his feathers, puffing up his chest slightly and Anthros stood a little taller, a determined look in his eyes. Hyacinth sighed and looked at the two birds. "Well, they think that something can be done. So, I suppose there's no harm in trying..."

Flora smiled at the Minister. "That's good."

Lord Milori, although still distraught by their situation, couldn't help but feel motivated by Flora's words. That always seemed to be her most used word; "try". It was a good word as well. If nobody ever tried anything, then how would they ever move on? How would people be able to grow or advance? Just like when Tinkerbell and Periwinkle tried to change the laws, to change what was normal. They succeeded and it changed Pixie Hollow for the better. His wings flapped slightly (and they normally would've fluttered if they weren't Dark Fairy-type wings). "You're right. We all have to try, if not for our sakes, then for Clarion's and for Pixie Hollow's."

"You know what, you're all right." Hawthorn said. "We tried back when the wall of thorns blocked our way because we  _had_  to, That was life-or-death, and this is no exception. Your life may not be on the line, but many others lives are. Heck, this is just one big dome of ice, this isn't the Devil's Mouth!"

"That's right it's not!" Venom exclaimed. "And this made me think; there is fallen ice debris from where we fell through! I haven't tried it myself, but what if we were to break the ice with the same magically-infused ice pieces?"

Wolfgang then added, "And the creatures have some strong harnesses on them, we could use those for some type of rope!"

"We're all bright people," Redleaf stated. "So even if this doesn't work, I'm certain we can figure something out!"

Lilith shook her head but there was a smile on her face. "There are still some days I think you're all crazy, but I like the determination."

Everyone looked expectantly to Raven, who had long since stopped pacing, but still looked very frustrated. With all eyes on him, the frustration only seemed to escalate. "What?" He snapped. "If you're all going to do something, I may as well try to work along with you."

Flora smiled brightly and nodded her thanks. "Excellent! Now, let's get going! We should gather as many ice pieces as we can; large and thick ones!"

Everyone quickly set to work, gathering the various ice pieces that had fallen from the ceiling of the dome. Flora had to literally drag or push some ice pieces along the ground (no thanks to her size and stature) but it still worked. Wolfgang had set to work on turning Charlie and Anthros' harnesses into a rope. As the ice chunks were stacked and placed together, Lilith held them all together so they wouldn't fall or tip over.

Venom placed one last ice chunk on top and Wolfgang quickly tied them all together with the rope, tying a strong and tight knot at the base. It was like one giant rock sling, only it was made of ice!

As Wolfgang and Lilith dragged the ice-sling towards the far wall, Redleaf whispered down to Flora, "Do you truly think this will work?"

She shrugged slightly. "Hopefully it will."

Anthros warbled and grabbed at the end of the rope with his talons, taking off into the air as high as he possibly could. "Don't let go of it too soon!" Hawthorn called up to the snowy owl. "I don't want to be squished."

The owl gave a low screech at the Dark Fairy.  _I'm not stupid, winged fairy!_

Once he reached a height he was satisfied with, Anthros started to fly around in circles, slowly gaining both speed and momentum. The fairies down below gathered into a small group, far from the wall that the owl was targeting. Flora held her hands behind her back and crossed her fingers tight. Please work...

With a determined screech, Anthros released the sling, briefly losing his balance in the air. The sling crashed into the icy wall, shattering immediately on impact.

That was it. Just the shattering of the sling. Nothing else.

Just like the sling had, Flora's hopes shattered and crumbled and she sighed heavily in defeat. "That should've worked..." She mumbled.

She walked over to where the sling came into contact with the wall, grabbing the harnesses and looking them over. They would've been made with Pixie Dust; there was no way that ice and flowers had just magically been formed and grown on those harnesses. She should've thought of that before-hand! They would've been spared all of that lost work! Her fault, her failure, and this time it would cost people.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Look, Freckles, we can figure something else out..."

"There's no sense in trying to comfort me, Raven." She muttered. "Nothing is alright, nothing is fine, there is no way out of this!"

She heard something tapping against the ice, but she ignored it and turned around to face the Dark Fairy. "I need to learn to accept things as they are! I need to learn not to push, to not place false hope in others!"

Raven crossed his arms. "You've gotten us this far, who's to say you can't take us farther?"

More tapping against the ice, but it just agitated Flora further. "Logic says I can't! Whoever placed this ice here had planned ahead!"

"Hey! What happened to the Freckles I've come to know?" He tilted his head to the side. "Last I checked, she wasn't one to give up so easily."

"That's when I  _knew_  there was a way out! There is none here! We are trapped here, we can't get out and we can't work our way around it!" She glared up at him. "Our journey ends here, Raven!"

There was a few more, louder, taps on the ice and Flora growled and whipped around. "And whoever is making that sound, knock it off!"

Everyone looked between one another, clearly confused. As Flora's eyes looked between the group of fairies, the tapping returned and she saw that it wasn't any of them who was making the sounds. Her brows furrowed and her head tilted to the side. "What...?"

Raven tapped her shoulder. "Hey, Freckles; the tapping is coming from the wall."

She turned around and listened closely. Three more taps came and it was, indeed, coming from the wall. Flora experimentally tapped her nail into the icy wall, wondering if someone was trying to communicate to them. There was a brief pause before the tapping returned, this time it was a lot more frantic. "What is going on?" She asked.

The tapping persisted and it wasn't long until there was a small crack in the ice. The instant it appeared, the tapping stopped. Who was trying to break the ice? Or, more importantly,  _what_?

Flora brushed her fingers against the cracked ice. Whatever was breaking the ice, it was working well because it wasn't growing back.

"Freckles, maybe you should stand ba-"

The ice in front of her suddenly broke and Flora was pushed back by whatever had broke through, her back pushed to the ground as she and whatever was on top of her slid across the floor. Flora barely had any time to respond to the sudden attack (or catch her breath) before she was suddenly brought into an almost deathly-tight hug.

If it wasn't for the incessant chirping, she never would have been able to guess what it was that was practically crushing her.

"Oh my god, Missy!"

The blue jay chirped, trilled and squawked happily, nuzzling her head roughly into Flora, a large smile on her face. Flora laughed and wrapped her arms around Missy's neck, gathering her in for a fierce hug. "Missy, oh lord, I am so happy to see you!"

"That's Missy?!"

"Who else would you think it would be, Hyacinth!?"

Missy granted her rider enough time to stand before she started practically running around her in circles, chirping almost non-stop. Charlie was quick to respond and flew over to the blue jay, chirping almost as loud as she was. Missy stopped to gently nuzzle into Charlie's neck before going to greet everyone else, nearly toppling the majority of them over.

"How are you alive, Missy?" Flora asked. "We all thought you were crushed underneath a pile of rocks!"

The blue jay started (what she assumed was) talking rapidly to her rider and Flora looked to Hyacinth. 'Help?'

"She's saying that she fell behind." He quickly explained. "She knew she wasn't going to make it out and she stopped just before the exit caved in. Some of her tail feathers got caught underneath the bigger rocks and the rest of her was trapped under some smaller rocks. It wasn't that bad and she managed to make it out of the Devil's Mouth."

"How did you find us?"

Missy responded quickly and Hyacinth translated. "She knew where we were going. All she had to do was find a shorter route in order to catch up to us!"

Flora laughed and smiled, walking over to Missy and gently stroking her crest. "Such a smart girl..."

"And," Raven said. "She gave us a way out of here!"

They all looked to see the hole that was made in the wall, large enough for even Anthros to get through. On the other side, they could see Fiona patiently waiting for them.

Wolfgang chuckled. "Whoever placed this ice dome here didn't plan on having a blue jay breaking the ice."

They all quickly moved out from the dome, gathering over to where Fiona had been sitting. "With all of that out of the way," Lilith said. "We need to get going!"

Missy started chirping again and Hyacinth tilted his head. "Slow down, Missy!"

The blue jay huffed and repeated her series of chirps, almost more sarcastically. "Apparently there's another way out from the Mountains." He told the group. "A shorter way."

"How does she know?" Venom asked.

"She said she met another bird, a Vulture. She asked for some directions to the Gulch and the vulture told her a shortcut through the Mountains that would get her there in more than half the time. Before she could reach the short cut, she had found Fiona in distress. That's how she found us."

Missy chirped and hopped over to Flora, leaning her head down slightly. She still had the harness on! With a smile, Flora hopped onto Missy and gently grasped the harness. "Well, I say we should go for it!"

Redleaf quickly climbed onto Fiona and Hyacinth mounted Charlie, who ruffled his feathers and trilled. "Yes, I know what you think, Charlie." Hyacinth chuckled.

"We should follow Missy." Lord Milori stated as he mounted onto Anthros. "She's a lot smarter than we gave her credit for. And if it cuts back time, all the better for us."

Lilith sighed. "Well, if that's the case," She gestured with her hands and took off into the air. "Lead on, Missy."

The bird nodded and Flora gently flicked her wrists, sending Missy into the air. She took to the front of the group, carefully navigating the Mountains for any sign of the shortcut that the vulture told her about.

As they flew, Flora began to think. If it wasn't for Missy and her well-timed arrival, there was no doubt in her mind that they would all still be stuck in that ice dome. She didn't know if it was fate, chance, or luck and she truly didn't care. All that mattered was that Missy was back and she was never going to let the bird out of her sight again!


	26. Sink or Swim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they travel through the Gulch, a threat looms over their heads, one that could end everything if they do not act quickly.

Being able to ride Missy again was quite the experience for Flora, it also gave her a little more freedom in mobility. Of course, she didn't mind in the slightest when she was riding with Redleaf, but she could only do so much when riding on Fiona. Now, with Missy back, she was able to scout ahead whenever she needed to. It also gave her a better layout of the area.

Well, not that they needed to scout ahead now, considering they were no longer out in the open air.

Missy's shortcut had lead them into a cave, filled with several branches of other caves. The Vulture she met had given her some good directions, because Missy was flying through the tunnels like she had done so several times before. She also had to have a good memory in order to remember how to navigate through the caves.

Charlie was apt to fly right next to Missy and the two birds would spark conversation between one another. It was very interesting to Flora as, back home in London, she never considered the conversations of birds much. She just thought they were communicating based on instinct and the need to locate one another, or to fend off other birds. But, it was a possibility that they actually  _talked_ , much like humans would. The only thing she wished was that she could actually understand them.

"How much further, Missy?" She asked the jay.

The bird trilled in response and Hyacinth told her, "Just up ahead."

Flora smiled and stroked gently at Missy's neck, making her smile and chirp happily. "Pretty bird."

"She's a tough one, isn't she? And smart."

Flora turned her head to see that Raven was now flying next to her. She shrugged slightly. "I suppose so. Most blue jays are."

He smiled. "Just like her rider."

She blinked a few times and her eyebrows shot up slightly. Once again, Raven was flowering her with compliments. And there were no signs of jest in his yellow eyes, but rather truth and a small smile could be seen tugging at the corner of his lips. At first, Flora had merely thought that he was just giving her an occasional passing compliment, but now she was beginning to think he was trying to flirt with her. No wonder why Redleaf would suddenly get jealous around him!

Missy suddenly released a low, almost menacing squawk and Raven moved away from her. "I don't get why she still doesn't like me..."

Flora shrugged and patted the jay's head. "Bad first impression, most likely. Jays are headstrong and don't forget easily."

Raven's lips pursed and he briefly eyed the bird before putting a bit more distance between himself and Missy, allowing for Lilith to just nudge in between them. Releasing a slight breath, she looked down at her bird. "Thanks, Missy."

Redleaf, who had been watching from below them, shook his head and urged Fiona onward. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help himself when he overhead Raven speaking to her. He also didn't fail to notice his flirtatious behaviour around her. He  _knew_  that Raven knew that he and Flora were together, so why bother with trying to get her attentions?

"I'd keep an eye on him, Tall Boy."

"I beg your pardon?"

Venom gestured with his head up to where Raven had previously been. "Raven. I'd keep an eye on him if I were you. He's just flirting right now, but it could get a bit more serious if not properly addressed."

Redleaf furrowed his brows. "I don't believe that's much of your concern."

"It's not." He replied. "But I've seen this happen too many times; two fairies involved, in this case a fairy and a human, and another one on the sidelines. The sparrow man believes he isn't being noticed and continues flirting with the fairy. You need to address him, let him know that you know what's going on. Otherwise, there could be some happenings that shouldn't otherwise, well,  _happen_. Just trust me on this."

Redleaf sighed and nodded his head. "Very well. Next time we make camp-"

"Sooner than that!" The mutant snapped. "We're headed to the Gulch and there is almost no stopping when we're there. One nights' rest but that's it. And maybe a break or two. I'm not saying now, but sooner rather than later."

The Minister of Autumn looked from Venom and then up to Raven, who was now flying a fair distance away from Flora. His flirting  _was_  becoming a bit more frequent... perhaps the mutant was right.

"The exit is right up ahead!" Lilith called down to them. "We'll pause for a slight break but then we are heading straight for the Gulch!"

Venom gave the sparrow man a look before taking off back into the air. Fiona growled slightly and Redleaf patted her neck reassuringly. "It's fine, girl."

The exit was actually a lot closer than what Lilith made it seem to be. It was merely a few short moments and they were no longer surrounded by walls and floors of ice. The sky was just slightly cloudy, with a bit of the sun showing from behind them. There was also no snow. And it was warmer. Almost like the border between Winter and Autumn back in Pixie Hollow.

As the birds and Dark Fairies landed, Redleaf quickly dismounted from Fiona and removed his fur coat and leggings, removing his red sashes from the pockets and wrapping them back around his waist. Although he was a warm season fairy, he still had the ability to sweat if things got too warm. He immediately stretched out his wings, fluttering and flittering them. It felt good to let them spread out after being confined for so long. Hawthorn was quick to gather the fur coats and store them back in the satchel that was (currently) being passed from Anthros to Fiona. Then small pieces of watermelon was being passed out as well as water canteens, filled right up to the brim.

"Drink up and eat up!" Lilith stated. "The Gulch is extremely hot and the wind provides no cooling off of any kind. No food or water. Extreme weather conditions as well. Once we feel even a light drop of rain, we have to book it; heavy rain would've reached the start of the Gulch and floods would start up shortly after; we need to go in prepared or we'll be dead. Oh, we're also walking. The birds could bake under the sun and we need them in case of flooding. We'll take turns on the beast."

"Why don't we just walk around the Gulch?" Hyacinth asked. "If it's so dangerous..."

"That would be an extra week, Flowers." Lilith snapped. "Now quit being a baby."

Flora walked over to Redleaf. "How will Lord Milori do? You know, since it's so hot in the Gulch."

Redleaf looked to the Lord of Winter, who was currently frosting over some of his clothes. The bruise on his arm had grown and increased in colour, appearing almost black. How hard had he hit the ground? "I am not certain."

"Hopefully he doesn't get sick..."

"I'm certain he will try to keep himself cool in the heat." He replied.

A brief moment of silence passed between the young couple before Redleaf gently ushered her off to the side. "I actually need to speak with you about something, Flora."

"What is it, Red?"

The Minister dropped his voice low and slightly leaned down. "It's about Raven. He hasn't... tried anything, has he?"

Her eyes briefly glanced over to the Dark Fairy and then back up to Redleaf and shook her head. "No, he hasn't."

"If he does-"

"I'll let you know." Standing on his feet and on the tips of her toes, Flora placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry."

He smiled down at his love before leaning down and briefly brushing his lips against hers.

"Alright, let's move out!"

They both released an annoyed sigh and rolled their eyes. Hopefully it would be soon that they would have more time to spend alone and free from rude interruptions.

/ / /

"What this place lacks in water and shade, it makes up for it with searing heat and blinding sunshine!" Flora let out a small titter. "So, this is part of Neverland!?"

Redleaf wiped at his brow and sighed. "I'm afraid so."

They weren't the only ones who were being affected by the heat. Hyacinth had long since removed his overcoat and was now left with a blue, sleeveless top and his purple leggings. Lord Milori was constantly pouring water onto a cloth, freezing it and wrapping it around his forehead to keep cool and he almost never put his wings down from over his head. It provided a shade for him, which was smart, but the air made the effort almost futile. Missy, Anthros and Charlie would occasionally pause to dig up some of the cooler dirt underneath them and give themselves a dirt bath to cool off. Fiona didn't seem  _too_  effected by the heat, but it also could've been just her staying strong. Most of the male Dark Fairies had removed their shirts and Hawthorn and Lilith both had opted to change into sleeveless shirts ( _completely_  sleeveless). Redleaf, who had not packed a more cooler shirt (well, he brought a short-sleeved one, but it was made from dark autumn leaves), had no choice but to remove it altogether. It made him feel more than a little bit aware of himself, but Flora  _definitely_  didn't mind his lack of a top. He also ended up pulling his dark hair back into a braid.

For a sparrow man who lived in the Autumn Forest, he had quite a tan! Did he sunbathe when he had spare time? And although he appeared thin under his usual clothing, he actually had some decent muscles. Especially along his back. She had to resist the urge to run her hands along them...

"I can see you staring again."

Flora blinked rapidly and looked up at him. "I'm not staring!" She blurted.

Redleaf couldn't help but chuckle at her insistence. He then leaned down and whispered, "I do not mind it, little flower. So long as it's only your eyes that are staring."

She sputtered slightly. Was he teasing her?! Crossing her arms, she said, "Don't think I haven't caught you staring as well!"

His eyes widened slightly and he cleared his throat. "I don't believe I know what you're talking about..."

Flora had to change into different clothes as well, because all she had were her leggings and her autumn shirt. She had a couple of spare shirts in case one or two were ripped or dirty, but they were short-sleeved. Hawthorn and Lilith had both offered to let Flora borrow one of their sleeveless shirts, but due to her size, they were unable to fit her.

Then Hawthorn had the brilliant idea of using Redleaf's sashes.

Both he and Flora were against it at first, both declaring it was improper. But then Lilith said it was almost no different than the sleeveless shirts that she and Hawthorn were wearing. "Either that," she had said. "Or you can bake to death in the sun. Your choice."

So, in the end, Flora had ended up with both of his red sashes wrapped around her. Lilith had done her best to make sure that more than enough skin was covered,  _especially_  around her chest, but his sashes were only so wide. If she ever stretched, sometimes even when she just breathed, he could see just the slightest bit of skin around her abdomen.

It wasn't just exposed skin that caused him to daydream, it was also how the sashes looked wrapped around her body. The hugged her tightly, leaving very little to the imagination. He could see every curve and every muscle as she moved. The striking red contrasted with her pale skin, further accentuating her body. Redleaf also didn't fail to notice the small bit of freckles along her arms and shoulders and just along her collarbone. Only down a bit further was the oh-so tempting swell of her-

"Red!"

Her warning shout was too late as Redleaf suddenly tripped and fell flat against the ground, kicking up dust as he fell. Looking back, he saw that he had tripped over a rock.

Flora quickly helped the Minister up from the dusty ground and he shook his head. "Sorry, I'm just..."

"Probably getting too hot." Wolfgang said. "Neither you or Freckles have had a break from walking, yet. While you're relaxing, be sure to drink lots of water."

Fiona stopped walking and they both climbed up onto the massive cat. Flora sat in front of Redleaf and she took hold of the reins. "Personal comfort, really." She informed him.

"I see."

Missy quickly flew onto Fiona's back, sitting just behind Flora and Redleaf, and hovered her wing above them, providing shade. "Thanks, Missy." Said Flora.

Fiona moved forward a bit too suddenly and Redleaf had to grab onto Flora to keep himself from falling over. "Sorry..." He quickly apologized.

She leaned back against his chest and smiled. "It's fine."

They moved forward in silence, then, much to his discomfort. For whatever reason, he felt almost awkward and somewhat nervous. Perhaps it was the heat that was getting to him. Desperate to rid himself of what he was feeling, he said to her, "I never knew you had freckles on your shoulders."

Flora laughed, slightly. "Pretty much nobody knows, Red. And there's a lot of places on my body that my freckles cover." She paused then and, realizing how her words sounded, groaned and grimaced. "I'm sorry, that was... weird."

Redleaf smiled. "Not at all. Although, I am curious..." He leaned down so his lips were almost against her ear. "Just where exactly  _do_  your freckles cover?"

Despite the heat, Flora couldn't help but shiver as his breath brushed her skin. "Just... just along my back, and..."

He kissed her shoulder. "Mhm?"

"My legs..."

Missy rolled her eyes and brushed at the two fairies with her wing, ruffling their hair slightly. She understood that the tall fairy liked the wingless fairy, but she'd rather not be there when they're acting this way.

The young couple sighed and rolled their eyes. Once again, their lack of privacy got in the way of things.

They rode in silence, then, occasionally taking a drink of water. The sun had shown no signs of relenting in its' searing heat, not a single cloud was in the sky to provide even the slightest bit of shade. It was almost like summer... a summer that threatened to kill them if it tried hard enough.

Venom didn't seem to mind the heat at all, really. He didn't even look like he was sweating! Probably due to him being a lizard-type mutant. Flora couldn't help but envy him in this situation.

Lilith suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes suddenly interested in the sky above them. Wolfgang stopped beside her, a gentle hand on her arm. "Is something wrong?"

The Dark Fairy shook her head. "It's too still..." She told him.

The rest of the group stopped along with her and Flora tilted her head, leaning forward slightly. "Is something wrong, Lilith?"

"There's no wind." She called back, turning around to face the human. "There's  _always_  wind. There's too much dust on the ground as well."

"That's never a good sign." Said Venom. "Back at the Creek, no winds meant a storm was coming. If a storm is coming, it'll flood here."

Flora pushed down on Fiona and the lynx lied down, allowing the human to slide off of her safely. "Then shouldn't we get to higher ground?"

Lilith gestured around them. "Do you see any way up? Even for warm fairies, flying or even climbing up would get them far too hot; we'd pass out from the heat! It wouldn't be much better for the birds."

Fiona growled and Hyacinth nodded. "She's saying she can climb up, taking us with her."

Raven shook his head. "That'll take too long. By the time she's able to find a spot to even start climbing, the Gulch would already be flooding! By the time she even gets halfway up, we'll be swept away!"

Flora huffed. "Well then, we better get going if we even want to have a chance!"

The three birds chirped and Hyacinth nodded. "They're saying they can make it out once the rain starts, when it gets cooler. They'll be fine."

Fiona mewled lightly and lied back down, permitting the human to climb back up. "Anyone else coming along?"

Hyacinth immediately climbed up the large feline, setting himself behind Redleaf. "I'd rather try to get out of here rather than wait around for the storm to hit."

Lord Milori followed suit. "The faster, the better."

Venom flew into the air, unperturbed by the heat. "I can scout ahead a bit for you guys!"

The remaining Dark Fairies all looked between one another. The last time that an escape attempt was made, through a flooding Gulch, they had lost many of their people to drowning. Well, then again, they never actually had a beast to aid in their escape. Lynxes were agile creatures, considering most made their homes in snowy mountains. Perhaps Fiona would be able to get them out of the Gulch in time.

Hawthorn was the first to act, dashing to the lynx and climbing up her furry body. "I'm not ready to die  _just_  yet. You three are welcome to, of course."

Raven rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I'm not riding on the beast; if the birds can make it out before the Gulch floods, I'll stay with them."

Lilith nodded. "Smart move. Besides, the feline already looks full up."

Venom nodded to the Dark Fairies on the ground. "Okay, I'll fly ahead and see if there's a path to the upper part of the Gulch. Follow close!"

As soon as the mutant took off, so did Fiona, barreling through the Gulch, leaving a trail of dust in her wake (and nearly tossing Hawthorn off her back in the process).

Venom searched the upper part of the Gulch almost thoroughly, looking for any signs of escape. In just a few short minutes, the clouds began to darken and the fairies all could feel the light spittle of the rain. "Venom..." Hawthorn called.

"I know!" He shouted. "Look, there's almost no way out of here!" He flew back down in front of the beast. "There's only one sure way, but it isn't too safe-"

"Any way is better than where we are now!" Milori stated.

Venom huffed but nodded. "Okay, this way!"

Dashing through the air, the lizard mutant made his way over to a small lip in the Gulch's side and Fiona followed close behind him, jumping onto the side of the Gulch with finesse. Everyone immediately held onto the massive feline, not too keen in falling off.

The lynx continued to follow Venom, climbing as fast as she could up the stony sides. She tried her best not to slip so she wouldn't knock any of the fairies off her back. Especially the wingless one. Of course, with the way the rain was starting to come down, it was especially hard to keep a firm grip on the muddy ground.

Hawthorn, out of instinct, looked behind them and gasped. "Can't this creature move any faster?!"

Redleaf snapped his head around. "You try climbing up a steep cliffside!"

She pointed behind her. "Tell that to the flood!"

Everyone looked back then and some gasped and others' eyes widened. Indeed, the flood was already upon them. The waves rolled in thick, white sheets, the water cloudy and dark from the stirred up mud, dirt, stones and dust. As the rough waters passed below them, the side of the gulch would start to errode from the pressure of the water. Subconsciously, each fairy (and one human) tightened their grip on Fiona.

With a determined growl, the feline jumped up towards another lip in the side of the Gulch, her claws digging into the softening soil. Her back legs suddenly gave out, causing her to slip down the side slightly. Redleaf tightened his grip on Flora, holding her close to his body. If they  _did_  fall off, at least he would be close to her.

Venom flew behind the beast and helped each of her hind legs find a grip and once she was steady, he flew back in front of her. "Just a little more!" He shouted over the torrents of rain.

None of them had heard him, of course, only the beast did. Digging her paws and claws into the soaked earth, Fiona started to jump from lip to lip, digging her paws into the sides as to not lose her grip again. One more tumble, and she might not be able to recover in time.

Venom waited for the creature at the lip of the Gulch, his heart beating rapidly from the adrenaline as well as the anxiousness. The beast was strong, he would give it that, but he knew from experience that any feline wasn't the best at swimming. If she fell...

Fiona gave one last, mighty jump and her paws were over the lip of the Gulch. She growled at the mutant and he immediately came to the aid of the fairies who stayed on her back, picking up each of them individually and helping them onto the sturdy ground.

Once each of them was safe, Fiona climbed over the lip and collapsed along with the rest of the fairies, breathing heavily from the effort of the climb. Flora and Redleaf both embraced each other, their initial fear erased and pushed to the back of their minds. Hawthorn laughed and punched at the air. " _Yeah_ , take that mother nature!"

Hyacinth tried his best to wipe the mud off of his undershirt, wiping his hair from in front of his face, smiling at their small victory.

Lord Milori looked around. "Where are the others?" He shouted.

Flora moved closer to the Lord of Winter in an attempt to hear him better. " _What_?"

" _Where are the others_?" He repeated.

Venom, seeing the two being so close to the edge of the Gulch, shouted at them. " _Get back_!"

Of course, neither of them heard the mutant. And, neither of them heard the crumbling of the earth beneath their feet.

Lord Milori was the first one to fall, the earth eroding underneath him and causing him to fall back. Flora, out of instinct, reached out to the winter fairy, trying to keep him from falling. However, due to her small size as well as the mud underneath her, she fell along with him. Their shouts of surprise were drowned out by the pounding of the rain, and then, by the rushing currents of the flood.

Flora clawed desperately at the water, searching around desperately for the surface or for anything to grab onto. All she saw was dark water and mud. Swinging her arms upward, she desperately hoped she would break the surface.

The constant churning and rolling of the currents kept her under the water, tossing and throwing her around, causing her to lose her sense of direction. Her lungs burned, her sight dimmed. Just when she thought she was going to drown, she finally broke through the surface of the water and she gasped for air, trying to keep herself on the surface. She looked around for Milori, hoping he was  _somewhere_. Before she could get a decent look, she was pulled back under the water.

As she was tossed around in the water, a memory flashed in her mind, from when she was a child. A storm had rolled through London, and the rivers were overflowing. She had fallen into the river and nearly drowned before she was rescued by her father. When she was being nursed back to health at home, her father told her, "If something such as this were to ever happen again, remember to swim  _with_  the current, so you will not be taken under the water as often."

She broke the surface once more and she breathed in heavily. Remembering her father's words, she paddled along with the speeding current, her head occasionally being forced under the water as she crashed into a large wave. As she looked ahead, she could see dead tree roots protruding from the sides of the Gulch. Trying her best to swim to the side, she reached out to the dead roots, grabbing hold of the ends.

With a secure grip, Flora edged her way to the thicker part of the root, the current pushing at her, wanting to sweep her away again, but the firm wood wouldn't allow it.

Now being able to look around, she could see various floating bits of wood being pushed along with the flood, some occasionally dunking into the water because of the roiling white caps. Where was Milori? Oh god, if he drowned...

She was unable to finish her thought as a thick log crashed into her back, causing her to cry out in pain as her grip on the root slackened. She was pushed under the roots from the persistent log and the pain in her body rendered her unable to resist the current.

Once again, Flora was thrown around under the water, with no signs of breaking the surface anytime soon. As her muscles loosened and her mind began to go blank, her thoughts went to Redleaf. Oh Red, she thought.

Her sight went dark, her thoughts were silenced, and her body went slack.


	27. Bringer of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swept away by the tides of the flood, Flora and Milori must find a way out of the Gulch, lest their journey ends right where they stand.

She felt like she was floating. But she wasn't on the water. She didn't feel like there was water. Where was she?

Slowly opening her eyes, Flora looked around her. She saw nothing but blue. Then, realizing she was laying down, she stood up and brushed herself off, now getting a proper look of her surroundings.

She was in a gorgeous meadow, filled with lush green and golden grass, flowers adorning the meadow like a blanket. Butterflies fluttered from flower to flower, bees buzzed around peacefully, birds flew in the clear blue sky, singing their beautiful songs. Just a few paces away was a fully grown willow tree. A small stream flowed past the willow tree and a light breeze made the leaves of the tree sway and rustle, creating a beautiful tune.

However, something was off about all of this...

A butterfly fluttered in front of her face, landing softly on the tip of her nose. It stayed there a moment before flying away.

That butterfly...

It was smaller than her.

Her initial sense of peace gave way to fear and she spun around on her heel, looking around desperately. "Red!?" She called out. "Lord Milori? Hyacinth?"

"None of them are here, lass..."

Flora gasped and whipped around, startled by the deep, Scottish voice. She saw a man before her, leaning up against the trunk of the willow tree. He seemed only slightly old, possibly in his late thirties. His eyes were grey in colour and his auburn hair had small splashes of grey in it. A small moustache could be seen along his upper lip, also slightly grey. He seemed fairly well built, but not overly muscular. He wore an old, blue plaid shirt with black pants. He didn't wear shoes, however...

"Who are you?!" She demanded. "Where am I?"

The man chuckled and pushed himself from the tree. "Flora, lass, do ye not remember me?"

The young woman paused, evaluating the man once more. She didn't fail to notice the bullet scar on his neck, or the familiar sharp gleam in his eyes. The way his lips curled in a small smile.

Her eyes filled with tears. "Father?"

The man smiled then. "C'mere, Flora."

With a small sob, Flora threw herself into her fathers' arms, embracing him fiercely. "Oh, father, I've missed you so much!"

Her father kissed her head, caressing her back and running a hand through her hair. "Aye, I know ye have. And I've missed ye, too."

They stayed like that, embracing each other tightly, Floras' tears showing almost no signs of stopping. Her father continued to hold his daughter, whispering quiet, calming words to her. She finally sniffed, her tears spent. "I'm so sorry."

"Whatever for, my dear?"

She wiped at her remaining tears and looked up to her father. "For failing you..."

"Nonsense, child!" He kissed her forehead. "Ye haven't failed me. Ye never have disappointed me or let me down. Quite the opposite, in fact!"

"What have I done? Father, I hadn't gone anywhere with my life. I didn't use my education, I merely chased away at fantasies-"

"And whatever else yer mother said about ye can be buried in the ground." He gently pushed at her to look her properly in the eyes. "Flora, look at where ye've been, girl! Ye've gone to places no man or woman could ever dream of! Ye've tamed beasts, travelled to the farthest of places. Flora," he brushed back her bangs. "Ye found love. Ye found love in the arms of a man who loves ye in return not for your body, but for yer heart and soul. He's wise, caring and compassionate."

Flora smiled softly. "I guess..." she then laughed. "That is true."

Her fathers' smile turned into a slight frown. "Ye've been through a lot, but what lies ahead of ye... there will be trials, lass. There will be pain, and... ye may suffer losses." He kissed her head once more. "But know that I'm always here for ye, in spirit and soul."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What? Trials? Father, how-" Flora was interrupted by a sudden fit of coughs, pushing away from her father. She gasped deeply, as if she had just broken the surface of water.

His face turned sullen. "We've run out of time."

"Wha- 'time'?!" She coughed once more, water coming out from her lungs.

"Remember to keep your head held high, lass!" He told her. "Higher than the tallest tree!"

She tried reaching out, to touch him and hold him, but her body shook heavily from the fit of coughs that was now unleashed. "One last thing, lass; never trust the darkness, for it is a messenger of death..." Her father, his voice was fading. No, please don't go!

"I love ye, Flora..."

/ / /

Her eyes shot open and she coughed heavily, water finally being freed from her lungs. Air, such a precious thing when you don't have it, she thought.

"Flora!" Someone called. "Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but she only coughed once more, gasping heavily. Who was that? It wasn't him, was it? No, it couldn't be. She was back in the real world. Or she supposed she was.

The last of the water expelled from her lungs, Flora fell back onto the dry earth, breathing deeply as she stared up at the evening sky. How long had it been?

"Flora...?"

Her mind less fuzzy, she was finally able to decipher who's voice it was. It was close to her father's voice, but it was missing the Scottish brogue.

With a groan, she sat up. "Lord Milori?"

The Lord of Winter breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you were... I wasn't sure you'd make it."

Flora chuckled. "I've survived worse than drowning, Milori." She rubbed at her head, groaning at the slight pain. "Where are we?"

The sparrow man looked around. "I'm... not sure. After I found you I made camp. I'd rather stay put than move forward, not knowing where to go."

"Wise." She said. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. Nobody was there, nothing was there. Just a vast plain filled with dust and a bit of dry grass. Nothing compared to what she had seen mere moments before. Thunder rolled out in the distance, a small flash of lightning illuminating the earth around them.

And there was no signs of her father.

_There will be trials..._

"I assume nobody has found us."

Milori shook his head. "No. Not yet."

The chill of the impending evening and the heat of the campfire now fully settled in and she shivered, shuffling closer to the fire and warming her hands as she crossed her legs underneath her. Her leggings were only somewhat wet and the pain that should have been in her back was gone. Perhaps Milori had used magic?

Her hands now warm, she rubbed at her bare arms, then clasped at the warm shirt around her.

Wait... a shirt?

She looked down to see that, indeed, she was wearing a shirt. A pale green one. Her head then shot up and she looked to the winter fairy.

He was shirtless.

She was wearing his shirt.

"Why am I wearing your shirt?"

A deep blush suddenly covered his cheeks and he cleared his throat. "The sashes were loose." Was his quick response. "I didn't- wasn't going to try and tighten them..."

Well, this is awkward, she thought. "It's fine... thank you."

They both sat there, then, in complete silence. It bothered her. She didn't know why, but it bothered her. There was no bad blood between them, no uncleared air. At least, she hoped there wasn't.

"When did you find me?"

"Just recently." He informed her. "You were barely alive."

"Did you use magic or something to help revive me?"

"No."

"Well, what did you use?"

When Milori didn't reply and only blushed once more, she became slightly confused. Surely fairies didn't need to use such medical procedures such as that. Did they? "Did you use CPR?"

It was his turn to be confused. "Pardon?"

She nearly slapped herself. Of course they wouldn't understand that term. "When one has drowned, another must perform CPR, something that involves artificial ventilation."

His face remained blank and she sighed. "Did you have to perform chest compressions and-"

"Yes. I did."

So they did know those medical procedures. Fascinating. "Well, you saved my life then. Thank you."

He nodded in return.

They sat in awkward silence, then. Although they technically were on good terms (she wasn't certain as to if he was still upset with her about Clarion) they never really spoke much to one another. What was there to even talk about?

"What are the chances of them even finding us?" She asked.

Lord Milori gave a slight shrug, not taking his eyes off the fire. "I truly am not certain. There is a chance they might not find us at all."

"They weren't swept up by the flood-"

"And we were." He gestured around them. "Do you recognize or even see anything around us?"

Flora looked around. Just a bunch of dust and rock and a single, fully grown blossom tree. "The Dark Fairies know their way around."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "But they don't know where we went.  _We_  don't know where we went. Who knows how far the canyon goes, or if it branches off elsewhere?"

She sighed in defeat and brought her knees to her chest. "Alright, so, we need to think. We have no food or water. You don't have Pixie Dust, I don't have Missy. You're a winter fairy and it'll be scorching hot tomorrow. What should we do?"

His brows furrowed pensively and he stared back into the fire. This was true. If they waited until tomorrow, they were risking death. He could not last long in the heat and she couldn't last long on her own at all. Not that she wasn't strong, but humans can only last so long without food or water.

So, there was only one option they had left.

"We should get moving now."

Her head shot up. "Wait, what?"

The Lord of Winter stood from his spot on the ground and dusted himself off. "It will be too hot in the day, and we have a short amount of time. By the time we're found, we may not even be alive."

Flora, once again, sighed. "You're right." Pushing herself up, she groaned as her bones cracked in her legs and back. "Bloody log..." she muttered.

"We were heading north before the storm set in," said Milori. "So, we should keep heading north and hopefully we'll get to where we need to go."

She nodded. "Right."

Without another word, they both took off into the night and towards the winding paths of the Gulch, neither of them aware of the eyes watching them, waiting for them.

Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

/ / /

" _Stop_!"

"Why?"

"We're lost, that's why!"

"It is not that simple; we cannot be lost!"

"We've passed this tree about three times already!"

Milori turned sharply on his heel, now completely frustrated. "There's more than one tree in Neverland, Flora!"

The human glared and slapped her hand against the trunk of the tree. "This blossom tree was here when I first woke up and it's still here now! I doubt trees have identical twins!"

The Lord of Winter ground his teeth and held back a huff. They  _had_  been wandering about for a while, long past the sunset hours. Because of the cloudy sky, they couldn't see too much of where they were. And, due to the flood having soaked his wings, they still felt far too heavy for Milori to even attempt flying to gather their bearings. Dried mud wasn't much help either. "What do you suggest we do, then?" He asked. "We have no stars to aid us, we both have lost our senses of direction and if we don't hurry, day will be upon us and we'll both perish before this journey even ends!"

Flora looked around, gesturing with her arms and hands, now completely frustrated with the sparrow man. With a loud huff, she growled in anger. "You know what, just-"

She suddenly grabbed a small rock that was by her foot.

Lord Milori stepped back slightly, his white wings spread in a defensive stance. He had seen the small human when she was angry, even when  _extremely_  angry. But never once had she turned to violence during one of her anger-spells. He didn't think she'd hurt him, but then again, he had seen her in action. She wasn't afraid to hurt people.

With a roar, Flora tossed the stone as far as she could, then, setting herself down at the base of the tree (much like how a child throwing a tantrum would sit down on a chair), she heaved a heavy sigh. "Bollocks..." She muttered.

Milori (now satisfied that she wasn't going to somehow hurt him), settled himself slightly and also sighed. "I'm sorry. But this situation seems to have only one outcome."

Flora wiped furiously at her eyes, her heavy huff sounding nearly like a sob. "We can't give up now! Milori, think about Clarion! She'd be waiting for us, waiting for  _you_ , and if we don't come, how do you think that would fare for her?"

The Winter Lord crossed his arms and shuffled his feet. She was right. Again.

With a small sniffle, Flora stood and brushed off her clothes. "We just need to keep going. We need to stay strong, and keep our heads held high."

She paused, then. What she had just recited to Milori was something that her father would always tell her whenever things were getting tough. But, for whatever reason, it felt like those words had a very special importance; it was nagging at her, telling her to do  _something_ , but she didn't know what.

_Keep your head held high. Higher than the tallest tree._

Her brows furrowed.

"Higher than the tallest tree..." She murmured.

Milori raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

She suddenly became exuberant, grabbing at Milori's arms and shaking them slightly. "'Higher than the tallest tree'! My father always told me this! He even told me this just a few hours ago!"

The sparrow man was instantly confused. "I... I'm sorry, but I don't understand-"

Her smile brightened and she released him. "' _The tallest tree_ ', Milori!"

Before he could inquire further, Flora kicked off her shoes and started to climb the blossom tree. Although the bark was not too rough, and there was no branches to aid her for the first portion of the tree, years and years of experience in tree climbing had given her the ability to climb even the smoothest of trees. Instead of hugging the trunk, she would use her whole hands to help her up and, if the bark had a small amount of texture, she would dig her fingers into the bark itself. Her bare feet were able to 'hug' the tree, her toes digging into it the way they would into soft grass. The lack of restrictions that shoes would give her also permitted them to fully set themselves on the trunk, giving her a better grip on the tree.

Milori watched as she made her way up, fascinated with how easily she was able to climb the tree. Was there no end to her list of talents and abilities? However, there was one thing bugging him.

Was it really a good idea to be climbing a tree when there was still lightning?

Flora, finally getting to the upper part of the tree, started to jump from branch to branch, now getting close to breaking the canopy of the tree. Petals from the blossoms would fall to the ground below, creating an almost surreal scene. Pushing aside a thick group of blossoms, she finally broke through the canopy.

Her eyes scanned the horizon, hoping to find  _something_ , but the darkness from the night prevented her from seeing any more than twenty paces. Her initial excitement died down and her smile disappeared. Nothing.

A quiet roll of thunder could be heard out in the distance and a flash of lightening could be seen far off from where she and Milori currently were. A dark, shadowy figure could be seen further out. The shadows seemed to call out to her, beckoning her to them, but in an instant, the shadows were gone.

"I saw something!" She called down.

No response came from below her, drawing her suspicion. "Lord Milori?"

Still no response. Now concerned, Flora started to make her way back down the tree, dropping from branch to branch before sliding down the trunk and back onto the dusty ground. "Milori?"

He was nowhere. How can she not see a man that was so bright in contrast to the evening? "Milori, this isn't funny..." She called out, putting her shoes back on her feet.

She moved away from the tree, spinning around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Winter Fairy. Where could he have gone? He couldn't have gotten that far, he wouldn't have even left her behind in the first place!

Something wasn't right.

She didn't have a weapon with her; she didn't have her staff, and the rock she threw was the only big one that was sitting around. She was vulnerable to whatever had taken Milori, and it frightened her.

"It's dark out," She called, "and I'm not much of a fan of the dark..."

"And with good reason."

Before she could lash out, before she could even scream, arms enveloped her and covered her mouth, rendering her unable to speak. She kicked out with her legs, trying her best to wriggle out of whatever was holding her.

Something brushed at her hair and lips moved close to her ear, making her still. "The dark can consume you," it whispered to her, its breath hot against her ear. "It watches and observes. And, when it's hungry... it  _feasts_."

A sudden burst of light made Flora wince and look away. Once her eyes adjusted, she could see a torch had been lit and she could see the face...  _faces_ , of her captors.

Luna approached the human, her piercing eyes seeming to stare straight into her soul. "You should have stayed with the white fairy..."

Flora looked around, unsure if she wanted to see the Winter Lord or not. If he was here, he was in just as much danger as she. If he wasn't, he could be safe, or could have been killed.

Lord Milori was currently being held by two of the wolf mutants. One held his wings and the other had an iron dagger close to his neck, most likely to keep him quiet. Not that it was needed, as there was already a cloth around his mouth, but if he had made even so much as a quiet protest, Flora would have heard him and fled.

The mutant holding onto Flora then addressed Luna. "Can't we just eat the white one? They only need the small one!"

Luna growled. "You know why we can't! We already ate yesterday, we can hold out for a while longer."

The panic then rose inside Flora. Oh god, who did they eat? It couldn't have been Redleaf, or Hyacinth. Heck, it couldn't have been  _anyone_  from their group. They all had stuck together with more than two fairies in a group, and creatures to back them up.

Another wolf mutant, one of the ones holding Milori, almost seemed to whine. "Jax didn't have much meat on him!"

Her eyes widened. They... they  _ate_  their Alpha?!

Luna didn't fail to see the shock and fear written on the human's face and she smiled evilly, her sharp fangs exposed. "Jax was weak and was too soft to lead." She told her. "Our Master even saw that. With Their permission, we were allowed to... shall we say, ' _demote_ ' him."

Another mutant licked at their lips. "His death was quick. But not painless."

They snarled and laughed, some sounding like short howls, and Flora realized what they were trying to do. They were trying to make her afraid, to give them reason to strike at either she or Milori.

With a small huff, she glared menacingly at the newly-promoted Alpha, making her laugh. "She's still got some spirit left in her." Her dark smile disappeared. "That spirit will be broken in time."

With a snap of her fingers, the mutant with the blade used the butt-end to knock the Winter Lord out, letting him drop to the dusty ground. Flora struggled slightly against the wolf holding her, the panic now returning to her.

Luna, pulling something out from the pocket of her ripped leggings, chuckled darkly. "Sleep well."

Opening the palm of her hand, she blew the Dark Dust into Floras' face, making her cough as it invaded her lungs. It took a few moments for the effects to make an appearance, but she soon grew tired, her eyes closing, her mind becoming blurry.

Before she blacked out, she could hear Luna speaking.

"Raven sends his regards."


	28. The Nest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captured, Milori and Flora are forced to follow Luna and her mutants. Where they end up next, will either end them, or give them a fate worse than death itself.

The Winter Lord came to a lot sooner than the human did, which wasn't too surprising to Luna. Because humans were just that,  _humans_ , their resistance to things such as Dark Magic was very weak. Since fairies were surrounded my magic every day, they had a better tolerance for it.

However, the Winter Fairy only got a blade to the back of the head. So, either way, it was normal that he was waking up sooner than she was.

"About time you woke up," she snapped at the sparrow man, not looking up from the bone she was carving into. "I was beginning to think that Stalker hit you a little too hard."

Lord Milori groaned loudly and shook his head, grimacing at the pain in the back of his skull. He tried to move, to at the very least  _stretch_ , but the mutants had tied him down, along with his wings. He looked around, his vision slowly clearing.

They were in a cave, from what he could see. He guessed that they hadn't traveled too far, but he couldn't see much outside the cave, despite the fire in the center of the cave. The majority of the pack was asleep, aside from Luna, who was leaning against the wall of the cave. Flora was still out cold, although she wasn't tied like he was.

"By the way, your wound has healed nicely." She tapped her blade against her cheek, giving him a clear image of what she meant. "Too bad it didn't do more damage."

He said nothing, but merely glared at the wolf-type. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a reaction.

She only chuckled. "Still quiet, I see."

Setting the carving aside and pushing herself from the cave wall, she cracked her neck and approached the sparrow man. "How's about I let you in on something, snowball, hm?" She crouched down so she was eye level with him. She gestured around them. "This here, what is going on, and what had happened?" She shook her head. "I'm not taking  _too much_  joy in it, mind you."

He scoffed.

"I hold no love for you, fairies," she continued. "But what the Master wants from the human, I'm not taking much joy in aiding Them with."

"Then why do it?" He asked, his face never changing its expression.

She chuckled. "We do this, and we earn our place back with our Dark brothers and sisters."

When he didn't respond, she she scowled. Embedding her blade into the dirt, she leaned in closer towards Milori. "Look, the Master only really needs the human. I don't think They even  _know_  she's human. Regardless, you're not of much use to Them. So, I present to you a deal-"

He instantly shook his head. "I don't make deals with Dark Fairies."

"Which is a shame, really."

Seeing that she would get nowhere with the Winter Lord, she grabbed her blade and stood back up, glaring darkly at him. "Your fate is sealed, then, as is your Lady's."

His eyes widened slightly and he struggled against his bonds. "Where is she?" He demanded. "What have you done to her?!"

She didn't respond and merely turned her back to him, resuming in carving the bone. Lord Milori sighed heavily in defeat and leaned back against the cave wall, his head resting against the cold stone. He silently hoped that she was alright, at the very least  _alive_. If she wasn't, if anyone had so much as hurt her, he swore to himself that they would never have a chance to regret their choices.

/ / /

Morning had long since come around, but the clouds prevented any light from coming through, or any heat. At least there was an upside to their current situation.

Flora was still out cold and one of the mutants was carrying her, almost too delicately. For such vicious,  _cannibalistic_  beasts, they seemed to be treating Flora with the utmost care. It confused him.

As they walked along, silently, Lord Milori continued to think of ways to escape. There was about seven total mutants; one of them was too busy 'taking care' of Flora, so technically he only had to worry about six. Well, he wanted to make it out  _with_  Flora, so seven.

None of them carried anything heavy so they all could fly. Only about three of them, Luna included, had weapons, mainly daggers. His wings were still tied, so even if he wanted to, he couldn't fly. He also didn't have his daily dose of Pixie Dust, so flying was out of the question. The Gulch was still basically a bowl, now more-so, thanks to erosion from the recent flood. There was winding and turning paths throughout the gulch, so he  _could_  easily out-maneuver them. Then again-

He was pulled back by his wings, making him nearly fall back. He whipped his head around and glared, to which Luna glared back. "I said ' _stop_ '." She hissed.

All of the wolf-types suddenly became edgy and agitated, some of them had their ears flattened whilst others snarled slightly. There was something off about where they were, something dark and sinister. It was beginning to set Milori off as well.

Luna approached a large boulder that leaned against the Gulch wall, moving her clawed hands over it. She snapped at one of the larger mutants. "Xander, come help me with this!"

The wolf type dashed over and started to help push the boulder aside. Even with the both of them pushing, it seemed incredibly hard for them to get it moved, if the shaking in their limbs was any indication.

Why were they moving a boulder anyhow?

As the large stone rolled away, it revealed a large opening in the wall of the Gulch, a tunnel of sorts. Luna gestured with her head. "Let's get going."

He couldn't help but ask, "Where does this lead to?"

The mutant behind him shoved him forward, leaving his question unanswered. Reluctantly, hesitantly, he moved forward, hoping to high heavens that they weren't being lead to their deaths.

The dark tunnel was long and weaved constantly, leaving the Winter Lord disoriented and confused. He almost didn't know which way was up or down, or left or right!

Wherever they were being taken, it had to have been of the utmost secrecy, if it had to be underground.

He heard the smallest of whimpers from Flora and he immediately became concerned, moving towards where he heard her voice. However, he was rudely pulled back by his wings, once again.

"Luna, she's coming around."

"Then we gotta get moving!" She hissed. "She'll put up a fight and we don't want to cause a scene."

"The entire  _Nest_  is a scene..." Muttered the mutant behind the Winter Lord.

The Nest?

They were heading to the Nest. The Dark Fairy nest.

By the stars, this was worse than he thought.

As they passed through a curtain of dead roots, a small ray of light nearly blinded Milori, who winced at the sudden change in light.

Blinking a few times, his eyes finally adjusted to the light.

Turns out, the ray of light was really the only ray of light that showed through. The rest of the Nest was illuminated either by fire or by torch, giving the entire nest a creepy, evil aura. The homes, if they could even be called that, were built with dead tree roots, stones and mud. A small trail of lava flowed through the entire nest, bubbling and brewing almost quietly.

The noise that the Dark Fairies created was almost unbearable. Metal clashed against metal, shouts of anger or pain could be heard throughout the nest, and just the overall noise of the Dark Fairies talking was more than enough to make him go mad. As they passed through the nest, all eyes started to turn to them; icy glares, blank faces, scowling lips, just about every negative expression he could think of could be seen. Was it because of him and Flora? Or perhaps it was because of the presence of the Mutants.

Bit by bit, he could hear the Dark Fairies begin to talk. Mainly about Flora. ' _Is that the wingless one_ _?_ ', ' _She seems rather small._ ', ' _Is that the one the prophecy spoke of?_ '.

The entire situation was beginning to make Lord Milori uncomfortable. And the overall temperature of the Nest wasn't making him feel any better, either. Even in his shirtless state, it was still very warm for him. Perhaps it was because they were underground. And because of the heat from the lava, no doubt.

They reached another opening with dead roots hanging in front of it, much like a curtain. When Luna pushed through it, dust blew off from the underused roots, making Milori cough as it invaded his lungs.

They passed through another long tunnel, which was lit by torches (thank goodness). However, it did not ease his comfort, as he could see dark stains on the mix of dirt and rock. He could tell it wasn't water, because the marks seemed stale, but whatever it was, it smelt almost foul, mildly metallic.

They passed through another curtain of dead roots only to enter a large, seemingly empty room. A few torches hung on the walls, barely giving the room sufficient light. From what he could see, the walls were almost pure rock, and he could see strange markings painted onto the stone. He couldn't hardly tell what they were, however, and not that he cared. Aside from the wall paintings, he could hardly see anything else. It gave Lord Milori a sense of unease, not being able to see much. He felt vulnerable, exposed, even.

Luna took Flora from the arms of the other mutant and approached the center of the room, kneeling down before placing her on the ground. "We have done as you asked of us," she said. "We brought the one in the prophecy."

A voice called to her from the darkness, a voice that was barely distinguishable. On the line between masculine and feminine. "And the Winter Lord?"

She kept her head bowed. "Here as well."

Ahead of the wolf type, Lord Milori could see a movement from the shadows. Not too large, but also not too small. Once again, hard to distinguish a definite figure. "You have done quite well, Luna." The shadow praised her, to which she looked up. "You have done as I commanded, and now your reward shall be paid. In full."

A sudden horde of Dark Fairies emerged from the shadows, seizing the mutants before they had a chance to react. One Dark Fairy took hold of Milori, pushing him down to his knees and holding an iron blade close to his skin.

A Dark Fairy that had seized Luna struggled to keep her under control, prompting a second Fairy to aid them. Luna growled and snarled like a feral beast, lashing out at them. "You said we would join back with our brothers!"

"And you shall." The shadows replied. "In death."

Her eyes widened, betrayal and fear now apparent on her face. "You are a mutant, you are nothing more than a creature." The shadows explained. "We have no use for you."

The Dark Fairies all dragged (some literally) the mutants to a tunnel, one different from the one they had come in through, leaving Milori, Flora, and whomever was in the shadows, alone.

The Dark Fairy holding to the Winter Fairy then asked, "What do you want me to do with the wingless one?"

"She stays here. She shall be of no trouble to me."

The Dark Fairy gestured with his blade. "And this one?"

There was a brief pause. "Put him with the others, but keep him in a separate cell from the Queen."

A huge wave of relief swept over Lord Milori. She was alive and well, which was good. At least now he knew she was alright.

He offered little resistance as the Dark Fairy ushered him up and onward, seeing as their was no point to fighting now that he was in the, as humans would put it, 'belly of the beast'. He could only look back helplessly at the unconscious figure of Flora.

He could only hope and pray that no lethal harm would come to her.

/ / /

They watched the small creature closely. She was a peaceful thing, They thought. Pure in heart and soul. They could sense almost no darkness, just pure, positive energy from her body.

If all went according to plan, if They played their cards just right, then They could turn that purity, twist it up, into something  _truly_  evil.

However, she was no use to Them asleep. Perhaps They shouldn't have given Luna so much of the Dust.

Ah, well, no harm in waking her up a bit earlier. It would leave her confused and disorientated, pulling her out of her dreamless sleep, but it would subside.

Eventually.

/ / /

Her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dim light of the room. It was surprisingly warm where she was, comforting. However, the smell was something that was immediately putting her off.

However, as she awoke, she was not alarmed. She was merely confused. She stretched out her limbs, yawning widely as she rubbed her eyes.

She was in an open, empty room, from what she could see. Torches were the only source of light. Where was she? Certainly she wasn't back in the Gulch. The Gulch wasn't closed in, first of all, and there wasn't much resources to start fires in the first place.

She also wasn't alone.

She instantly shot up, her memories now coming back to her. The wolves, the  _mutants_ , where were they? Flora started spinning around, panic now settling into her heart. Where was Lord Milori? Oh god, had they eaten him as well?!

"There is no need for alarm, child."

She whipped around, her grey eyes searching for the source of the voice. "Who's there?!" She called.

"Someone. No one. Depending on what you want."

She stopped her frantic movements, willing for herself to calm down. There was no use in panicking now; that was the worst thing she could do in that moment. The best thing she could do was to stay calm, assess her situation, and figure out what was going on.

"I prefer someone..." She replied, a slight crack in her voice.

"I do not have much of a name," They told her, "Although most refer to me as Master."

She saw a flicker of movement from the shadows, urging her to keep her eyes on it. "Oh? And why would that be?"

The shadows chuckled. "I am ruler of this place. Nobody is above me, all are below me. My word is law, my word could kill you... or let you live."

It's being cryptic, she thought. "Where's Lord Milori?" She asked.

"With the others. Alive, if that is what your concern is."

The others? A small gasp escaped her. So they were all alive, then?

Wait, if this person, this  _creature_ , knew whom of which she spoke of, then there could only be one explanation as to where she was.

The Dark Fairy nest.

"Not really a nest,"

Had she spoken that aloud?

"But rather a hive. We work as a collective mind."

The anger within her swelled, sudden and unexpected, catching even herself off guard. "Where's Redleaf?" She demanded. "Where is Clarion? Hyacinth, Wolfgang-"

The shadows moved once again, and she kept her eyes on it. "As I said,  _alive_. You will be joining them soon enough. I just wanted to see what sort of spirit you had in you."

Flora held back a disgusted groan. So, here she was, a damsel in distress once again. She  _hated_  that feeling. "Oh, sod off!"

She shadows slowly emerged from the darkness, gradually coming into the light. " _Tsk_ , such a temper, young lady."

As it approached her, she could slowly start to see the actual figure of the shadows themselves. They seemed to be large, buff really, definitely masculine. The wings were surprisingly large, the tips bent and dragging on the rocky ground. From what she could tell, they were pure black in colour, and the bone at the tips had a devilishly wicked curl to them.

"You'll need to keep that spirit with you, Flora," he told her, "lest you die sooner rather than later."

Flora scoffed. "You can't kill me, or you lose what will complete the prophecy."

He laughed. "True. But we  _do_  need to kill you in order to complete said prophecy. How else will your spirit change?"

As the figure came more into view, his facial features started to become more apparent. She couldn't quite make them out, but if he just stepped a bit more into the light...

He seemed to sense her thoughts, because he stopped dead in his tracks. "All I can suggest to you, is to keep your spirit strong, and to enjoy your last days."

He stepped back, and another Dark Fairy emerged from the shadows, and her hopes instantly soared. "Raven! Thank god, you're alright!"

The Dark Fairy's face remained grim and he slowly approached her. "Look, just don't resist, it'll only make things harder for you."

Flora's smile started to disappear as she backed away from him. "What? Raven, I don't-"

He suddenly lunged forward, grabbing her wrists and turning her around. "Don't fight!" He growled, pinning her hands behind her back.

"Ease up, Reaper." The Master chided him, calling him by his old name. "We need her unscathed."

His grip loosened on her wrists, but only slightly. Pushing her forward, he guided her through a dark tunnel, saying nothing to her.

Once they were out of earshot, she whispered to him. "Please tell me this is all a ruse, Raven-"

He twisted her wrists slightly, making her yelp in pain. "You're too trusting of others, Flora." He mocked her. "No, this isn't a ruse. Didn't Luna tell you?"

Flora thought back to when they were captured.  _'Raven sends his regards'_.

Her anger swelled within her once more. "You little, back stabbing, pig skinned son of a-"

He twisted her wrists again, instantly silencing her.

"Right from the start, it was a ruse. For you." He pushed her through a curtain of dead roots, leading her into a more open area. It seemed to be a prison of sorts, if the barred rooms were any indication. The only sources of light was from a single crack in the 'ceiling' of the room and torches placed against the walls of the cells. "How do you think the wolf mutants were able to find us so easily?" He asked, almost rhetorically. "Why do you think our journey kept getting cut off so suddenly?" He stopped in front of a cell door and leaned down to her ear. "How do you think you got infected with the Plague?"

Her head snapped back to look up at him. "It was all  _you_?!"

Using a silver key to open the door, he pushed her through it and quickly closed the door behind her and locking it. "Like I said, some Dark Fairies can still be loyal to their Master. I was no exception."

She glared pure ice at him, but he was not phased. "Enjoy your time while you still have it."

And with that, he turned on his heel and left her to her thoughts. Flora, devastated at the newly found betrayal, huddled herself against the corner of the dark cell as the tears threatened to escape her as she shivered from the damp, cold air.

It all made sense, once she thought about it. Although for the first portion of the journey she was not entirely conscious, from what she had heard, there were a constant string of obstacles blocking the main path, forcing them to take shorter, more dangerous routes. There was a chance that any one of them could die, which was probably the intention of Raven - no, Reaper - and his Master. The wolf mutants  _always_  seemed to know where they were, and when they'd be there. Reaper also had plenty of time to conspire with the mutants, considering the majority of them would be asleep during the evenings. Then there was the Plague; Reaper had known  _instantaneously_  what was wrong with Flora. Her illness is what caused the journey to move along a lot quicker compared to if nothing had gone wrong.

Oh god, how could she have been so stupid?!

She heard something in the corner adjacent to her and she looked up to see a figure, larger than hers, moving towards her. "Flora? Is that you?"

Instantly recognizing his voice, Flora picked herself up and dashed over to him, knocking him right over as she hugged him. "Redleaf! Oh god, you're alive!"

Despite the shock at being knocked over, Redleaf peppered her face with light kisses, holding her close to him. "Thank the stars that  _you're_  alive!" He kissed her lips. "When I saw you and Lord Milori get swept away by the flood, I... I didn't think you'd make it..."

"I barely did." She admitted, resting her head against his shoulder. "I had drowned, somewhat. When Milori found me, he was able to revive me."

"How did you both get here?" He asked.

Her face suddenly turned grim and she sat up. "Luna and the other mutants. They found us last evening, and brought us here." She sighed heavily, running a hand through her messy hair. "Raven -  _Reaper_  - he had-"

"I know. He did the same to us." Said Redleaf. "We got picked off, one by one, and we couldn't see because of the storm."

Flora growled in frustration, once again, at her own stupidity. "To think that I had trusted him, right from the bloody start!"

Redleaf moved closer to her, setting a hand on her shoulder. "We were  _all_  played, Flora, and not just you. Don't berate yourself for it."

She let out a small sigh and nodded. "I know, Red. I just-"

She paused a moment and looked back to Redleaf. "Your hand is cold..."

He quickly removed his hand from her shoulder and chuckled. "Yes, sorry-"

"No, your hand is  _cold_." She repeated. "You're never cold!"

When Redleaf didn't respond, she immediately became concerned. "Come more into the light, love." She told him. "It's somewhat warmer."

"I can assure you, I'm fine."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not sodding fine, Red!"

Without warning, Flora grabbed at his hand and pulled him more towards her, underneath the ray of light coming through the ceiling. Once his arm came into view, she could see a slight discoloration in his tanned skin. It looked blue, almost black. Was that a bandage?

Slowly looking up from his arm, she stared straight into his eyes. "Come into the light, Redleaf." She told him again.

He hesitated, unsure if he should truly reveal what sort of a state he was in. He didn't want to upset her, or make her any more frightened of the Dark Fairies than she already was.

Then, with a defeated sigh, he moved himself more into the light, careful as to not meet her eyes. Whatever her reaction might be, he didn't want to risk seeing it.

Flora gasped, covering her mouth and her eyes widened with shock, as well as sorrow. What had they done to him?!

Redleaf had been left without his shirt on, so there was no covering the several bruises and scrapes on his chest, stomach and arms. A few bandages covered his arms and one around his shoulder, and she could see the faintest colour of blood under the bandages. There was a single bruise that was on his cheek, although it wasn't swollen so he must have been hit some time ago. His hair was let loose and was completely disheveled, some of it was hanging in front of his eyes.

"Good god, what did they do to you?!"

Redleaf sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing, just-"

"No it's not 'nothing'!" She snapped at him, now clearly upset. "They beat you and cut you, Redleaf!"

"The  _wolves_  cut me." He corrected her. "Bit me, more like."

She raised her arms. "Same difference, Red! Regardless, they hurt you!" She gently placed her hand on his forehead. "And your temperature is dangerously low!"

He grasped at her hand and kissed the palm of it, sighing quietly to himself. "Your concern is well-placed, love, but there is not much you can do. We are all trapped, here, and until we figure out what they plan to do and  _when_ , the best we can do is just sit and wait."

She glared. "I doubt everyone else feels the same way." She looked around then, looking for any other signs of her companions. "Speaking of which, where is everyone else?"

Redleaf shrugged. "I am not certain. Most likely in different cells. Whoever the Dark Fairies' Master is, They ordered for us all to be kept separated, to a degree."

Most likely to keep them from conspiring some sort of escape plan, she thought. "So... there's really no way out..."

"No, I'm afraid not."

Several moments of silence passed between them, granting plenty of time for the situation to fully settle in on Flora. No way out, no way to communicate with the rest of the group, no chance of rescue or escape. So, their chances of survival was null.

Redleaf brought her into a tight hug, gently running his hand through her hair. "We'll make it out of here, Flora. I promise..."

She sniffled. "How?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure something out."

A small, white lie, he knew. He doubted they would truly be able to find a way out of their current mess, but he didn't want to make Flora feel any worse than she already was. She was still reeling from Raven's betrayal and had only just arrived to the nest, so he had to give her some time to figure things out and assess the situation for herself.

Hopefully, between her intelligence and her determination, she'd be able to find some way to escape. With, or without him.


	29. Escape Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flora and Redleaf attempt to escape their cell and, hopefully, find the others and leave the Nest for good.

He could tell she was analyzing the area again. Looking for a way to escape, no doubt. not that there was much of a way. The bars were made of iron, as well as the handles of the torches. The bars of the cell had small metal spikes, so even laying a hand on them would hurt. Flora could burn through the iron, but who knew how long that would take? And the bars would most likely be heavy so either she had to be extremely strong, or he would have to grab the iron bars and suffer some minor burns in order to prevent any noise, which she certainly wouldn't allow.

There was plenty of time for them to escape, however, considering they had almost never been checked on for the past few days, except when they were given food to eat (which consisted of a tiny amount of greens, something he was grateful for) and his usual dose of Pixie Dust (only half a cup; they needed him along with the other fairies alive, but not able to properly function or fly). And, of course, sometimes Flora would be carefully tended to, her cuts and scrapes slowly being healed. "She needs to be in perfect condition for when the Master needs her." A Dark Fairy had explained.

Redleaf was snapped out of his thoughts when a loud  _clang_  sounded. He looked around to see that Flora had thrown a small stone at the cell door, and with what looked to be exceeding anger. "That's it..." She seethed, standing up from her spot on the ground. "I'm sick of just sitting around." Reaching behind her and under the shirt she wore, she grabbed at the (still) somewhat loose sashes that wrapped around her body. She tightened the one around her chest and removed the one around her abdomen.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Getting us out of here!" She hissed, wrapping the second sash around her chest, but more tighter than the last one. What was she trying to do? "You're going to suffocate yourself..."

She sniffed. "Oh, please, my breasts are already small. I just need them a slight bit..." She tied the knot and she sighed, letting her arms rest at her sides. "Smaller."

Redleaf stood, then, now concerned. "Whatever you're planning on doing, it doesn't seem like a good idea."

Flora looked up, determination gleaming in her eyes. "We have been sitting here for almost a week and if we continue to do so, we are all going to  _die_ , Red! I'm not allowing for that to happen!"

With a determined huff, Flora walked towards the bars of the cell, with a concerned sparrow man behind her. "If you're going to do what I think you are-"

Before he could even complete his sentence, Flora stuck her arm between the bars of the cell, quickly shuffling her way through them. The shirt snagged on the small spikes, and she could hear as it ripped, but she didn't dare flinch lest she make the whole situation far worse, and end up actually hurting herself.

Redleaf could only watch as she slowly (too slowly...) made her way between the bars and he cracked at his knuckles, each individually. A small habit he had recently developed, a bad habit, but it kept him from snatching her back and away.

With the first large portion of her body through the bars, Flora quickly pushed the rest of the way through. With her carelessness, the feathered shirt she wore snagged harshly on the rough spikes and, as a result, got completely torn. The small human barely took notice, a small rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was finally out! It was a slight bit too easy, but she didn't care.

For once, being tiny paid off!

She turned around and smiled. "I'm out!" She stated.

Redleaf nodded and smiled back, his eyes never leaving hers. Just don't look down, he recited in his head. "Indeed. But what now?"

Flora dropped down and began to examine the lock. She didn't know a thing about picking locks, at all, but she had read up on different lock types back home in London when she was trying to make her own 'treasure chest' for her father. It was just an old rusted lock.

"I could break it with a rock, maybe?" She suggested.

Redleaf shook his head. "And risk the noise? No, you'd be caught, and put elsewhere!"

"I got to get you out somehow!"

"No, just go!" His hissed, careful as to not raise his voice too much. "Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"And I'm not asking."

Flora made a face; her lips pursed, brows down in a glare and her eyes slightly narrowed. She opened her mouth, to say something in retaliation, but a shout cut her off abruptly.

"Hey!" The Dark Fairy shouted. "How did you get out?!"

Flora turned and barely had time to react as the Fairy lunged at her, attempting to grab her. Once again, thanks to her size, she was slightly quicker and more nimble than the average human, and she was able to kick the Dark Fairy's feet from under him before he could actually grab her. The Fairy landed with a heavy  _thud_  and she delivered a swift sucker punch to his head, knocking him out immediately. She huffed and brushed back the bangs of her hair. Once again, almost too easy, But who was she to complain when the keys were right on his belt?

Grabbing the keys, she showed them to Redleaf, the way a sassy child would show an object to their parents, before she quickly unlocked the door, letting him out. "Very well, we're out. But what now?"

"Find the others, see if we can get them out as well!"

He tilted his head. "How?"

She gestured with her hands. "Down on your knees a moment. Quickly."

He did as she commanded and Flora moved behind him. Using one of his sashes as a ponytail, she did his hair up into a braid, and then wrapping it into a bun, securing it tightly with the sash. "We need to be stealthy, so we can't have your hair getting in your face."

"Do you know where the others are?"

She shook her head. "No, but we have to try and find them!"

/ / /

"Flora-"

"Shh!"

Redleaf sighed heavily. "We've been in this tunnel already!" He hissed, careful as to not raise his voice to more than a whisper.

Flora had managed to find a tunnel system, which was inhabited by moles carrying packs. Most likely a way of communication or transporting items. They had een meandering about in the tunnels for a short while now, and they still hadn't managed to find anyone.

"They'll know we're missing by now!" He said.

"Do you hear them panicking up there?!" She growled. "Look, I feel as nervous as you do but if they knew we were missing, we'd hear a bunch of them running about trying to find us!"

Redleaf pursed his lips and kept silent. She was right... again.

Still, it felt odd that nobody had found them. Wouldn't someone had gone looking for the Dark Fairy that was checking on them? He had a really bad feeling about all this...

Aside from the claustrophobia, of course.

And besides all that, Redleaf really couldn't help but notice how he got a rather... interesting view from behind Flora. By the Second Star, even when she was covered in dirt, she still looked beautiful.

Once again, due to his distraction, the Minister ended up running into Flora, who  _tsked_  in annoyance. "I said 'stop'!" She hissed.

"Why?" He asked, backing away from her.

She brought a finger to her lips and pointed upward. Upon listening, Redleaf could hear a few pairs of footsteps moving above them. Had they discovered they were missing? Oh, please say they were just patrolling...

They stayed silent for several moments more until the footsteps faded away and they both released a breath. With a relieved smile, Flora looked back to him. "Okay, now we know where to-"

Flora was abruptly cut off as the roof above them caved in and covered them in dry dirt and rocks, leaving them blinded and their lungs full of dirt and dust. Redleaf felt himself being pulled up and he coughed hoarsely, attempting to rid his lungs of the dust and grit.

"Going somewhere, Minister?"

He didn't even need to open his eyes to know who's voice that was.

Before Redleaf could even respond, Raven grabbed his wrists and twisted them roughly, instantly getting the message across that fighting back would be pointless.

He  _knew_  something was wrong...

"Raven, I  _swear_  I will-"

"Would someone shut her up?!" The Dark Fairy snapped. "I don't need whatever she's going to give me..."

He heard Flora scoff. "Why, because you're- MMPH!"

The Dark Fairy escorting her swiftly gagged her with a cloth. "Humans are so annoying..." He muttered.

/ / /

They were both tossed to the ground in the middle of the room and Flora was quick to remove her gag. "There's no need to throw us, thank you!" She snapped.

"A few days in a cell and you  _still_  have a bright spirit." The voice chuckled darkly. "You're a lot stronger than I thought. Humans like you normally break under such circumstances."

Flora glared at the shadows. "I'm not like most humans."

He chuckled once again. "Indeed. Regardless, your attempted escape was impressive, but ill-planned and futile. As I said, you won't ever escape."

Redleaf looked up with a mix of fear and defiance. "You underestimate us." He stated.

"Yes, I underestimated you both once." The shadows moved, now circling the couple. "However, I refuse to do so again. You are both too smart to be kept together. And you, child, are too mischievous to be put with anyone else."

Flora sneered at the shadows, but kept her silence.

They suddenly stilled and she could see the gleam of the venom green eyes as they looked away from her. "Reaper."

The Dark Fairy straightened. "Yes?"

"I know you always had an interest in the human, although I do not understand why. However, to keep her out of trouble, I leave her to you."

He smiled slightly. "Of course, Master..."

At first, Flora's eyes filled with dread, but then with anger. She was not some object to be tossed about! " _I am no Fairy's toy_!" She seethed, speaking through clenched teeth.

"You  _will_  listen to what he tells you!" The shadows barked, making her flinch as if she had been slapped. "I will easily know when you haven't. And, as... punishment, one of your companions might end up being hurt."

Once again, fear and dread filled her heart. "You wouldn't dare..."

"Oh, I do." The shadows snapped his fingers and one of the Dark Fairy's quickly grabbed Redleaf and dragged him away, who immediately struggled against him. "Don't you dare harm her!" He roared.

Flora could only watch as her love was taken away, leaving her with Raven and his Master. For the first time in a while, she truly felt afraid. Who knew what could happen to her now?

Raven-  _Reaper_  - held out his hand to her, a surprisingly delicate gesture. She refused, at first, only glaring up at him. His stare suddenly hardened, glaring only slightly. Suppressing a sigh, Flora took his hand and he assisted her up. "Come with me."

As he lead her out of the room, the Master called to him. "Remember not to injure her. We need her physically unharmed."

/ / /

Reaper lead her through a series of tunnels, keeping silent and she did the same. No sense in asking him any questions, as she felt the majority of them will go unanswered.

Pushing aside a curtain of dead vines, Raven -  ** _Reaper_**  - gestured for her to pass through. She mentally rolled her eyes but went through and he came in close behind her. At the end of the tunnel she could see a wooden door. Was it made from dead bark?

He quickly passed her and, opening his door, once again gestured for her to go through. Why did she get the feeling she wasn't going to like wherever he was taking her into?

"You don't need to be afraid of me." He said, finally breaking the silence. "I won't hurt you, and your friends won't be hurt as long as you do as I tell you."

"Which is exactly why I  _should_  be afraid of you." Was her simple response.

Flora stepped through the door and he came in behind her, closing the bark door. It was his... home? It certainly looked a lot more civilized than she thought it would be.

It was a small home but it had everything a fairy would need. The flooring was made of wood so it wouldn't be dirty and dusty, most likely. The walls were made of cobblestone, and a single large fireplace lit up the entirety of the room. There was a living space, which was composed of a small, low table with a couch-like piece of furniture in front of it, with a fur rug underneath it. A bathing area directly across from the front door, and there was a... bedroom.

Oh god...

"I had a feeling my Master might have handed you over to me once we got you." Reaper explained to her. "So I have a bath drawn for you to clean up. Fresh clothes are in there as well."

"Why a bath?"

"You're filthy." He stated simply. "I'd rather not have you tracking mud and dust everywhere. And it's unappealing."

Flora crossed her arms defiantly. "Why would I want to be appealing to you?"

The Dark Fairy raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you want to risk not being so?"

So now he was resorting to threats? Once again suppressing a sigh, Flora made her way to the bathing room, where she closed the door behind her quickly. For extra measure, she blocked the door with a chair that was in there (which also contained her clothes).

Although she didn't want to do  _anything_  for Reaper, she couldn't deny her desire for a bath. She had already felt filthy before, but after becoming covered in dirt, she felt even more so. Removing her clothes, she dipped into the tub and under the water, sighing contentedly as she felt the dirt, sweat and grime wash off of her body. It was still very warm water!

She didn't take too much time in bathing, just doing the bare necessities of washing her body and hair. Once done, she grabbed the fur towel and got out from the bath, quickly drying herself off. Grabbing the clothes on the chair, she saw there was a set of small clothes and then a pair of black fur pants (it was very short but very smooth fur, which she had no doubt would look slimming on her).

But that was it. Where was the shirt?

Unless... he wanted her to wear the sash.

"Sodding dog humper..." She cursed.

Putting on the bottom pieces, Flora then tried her best to make the red sash cover as much of her chest as possible. The first chance she got, she promised herself, she was going to punch that man either in the jaw or his groin!

With a determined (and self-reassuring) huff, she moved the chair from in front of the door and exited the bathing room to see Reaper lounging on his couch, his wings hanging over the edge. "That was quick." He stated.

Bloody big ears, she thought. Raising her chin slightly, Flora made her way over to where Reaper was, careful as to not get... too close to him. When she finally came into view, the Dark Fairy eyed her up and down, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "The colours suit you, hon."

"Don't call me that." She instantly snapped.

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I have no doubt that you're thirsty or hungry. So, I got a few things." He gestured to the table in front of him.

She hadn't even noticed the fruit and drink on the table! It was a nice light snack, grapes and... nectar? Why not just water?

Flora rubbed at her arm slightly and she heard the slightest of rumbles coming from her stomach. Reaper patted the spot beside him. "Sit. No guest of mine will be standing when she doesn't want to."

"Am I really a guest?" She seethed. "Or a prisoner?"

"I can easily make you one here." He threatened her, his yellow eyes gleaming. "Now. Sit."

With a slight huff, Flora sat beside the Dark Fairy, putting a slight bit of space between them. Reaper poured some of the nectar into a glass cup (glass? Were they really that sophisticated here?) and handed it to her. "Drink."

"How do I know you haven't poisoned or drugged it?"

With a small laugh, Reaper took a sip of the nectar, licking his lips. "Satisfied?"

Flora hesitantly took the glass from his hand, sipping almost cautiously at the nectar. She wasn't quite sure what his goal was with doing this, but whatever it is, she wouldn't let him reach it.

"I never knew you had so many freckles." He said to her. "I guess we chose the right nickname for you."

She didn't respond, merely setting down the nectar and taking a few grapes off the stems, popping one into her mouth and chewing. They were incredibly juicy! How did they manage to get fresh fruits down here?

"I'm surprised you managed to escape so easily as well." He continued. "You're rather cunning, aren't you?"

"Flattery shall get you nowhere, Ra- Reaper." She quickly corrected herself. This isn't Raven, she chided herself mentally. This is Reaper; a liar, a traitor, a man she trusted only to have him stab her in the back.

She heard him chuckle. "You can call me Raven if you still want to, Flora," she cringed as he used her real name. "I don't mind."

The small human sighed and scooched herself away from him slightly, turning her head away. The more he spoke, the more she wanted to distance herself from him. Of course, he then moved closer to her, leaning an arm behind her on the couch. "Flora, look at me."

When she didn't, Reaper grasped her chin and moved her head so she was facing him. She flinched slightly at his sudden proximity. "You know I'm attracted to you," He said simply, "And yet you turn me away. Why?"

"I am with Redleaf." She replied.

He sniffed. "Your Minister? Your love for him is foolish. How can you come to love a sparrow man that cannot desire the way you do?"

"For a Dark Fairy who knows  _nothing_  of love," She said, "you seem to have quite the opinion of mine for him."

Reaper stroked her cheek gently, a sickening gesture to her. "Are you certain I know nothing, little one?"

Another name that made her cringe. God, she just wanted to be away from this sparrow man! Was there no way she could just space herself from him? Get him to leave her be?

Reaper grasped her chin almost gently and, without warning, kissed her. She breathed in sharply and attempted to pull away, only to have him hold the back of her neck, ultimately holding her in place.

She tried pushing away, but with their more-than-obvious size (and strength) difference, it was all futile. So, Flora held still, keeping her lips tight and being unresponsive to his touch. His lips felt cold and clammy, a complete opposite to Redleaf's lips. He also smelled of iron and musk. Not like Redleaf, who often smelled of cinnamon and pumpkin.

Reaper broke his kiss and leaned back. "You're thinking of him..."

The door to his home opened and he looked to see a young Dark Fairy standing in the doorway. "What?" He asked curtly.

"Sorry for the intrusion," she replied, "but the Master requests your presence, only for a short time."

Reaper sighed and waved a hand dismissively, and the young Dark Fairy bowed slightly before leaving. Standing up, he tugged at his shirt an winked at Flora. "To be continued, little one."

With that, he turned on his heel and left, closing the door behind him. She thought she could get out that way, but the sound of a lock rendered that idea futile.

With a shaking breath, Flora huddled herself on the couch, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Never before had she felt so afraid of another living, breathing, sentient being. She was actually afraid that Reaper could hurt her, hurt her friends. Hurt Redleaf. Who knew what he could do to her? She had to listen to and obey him, lest she risk someone getting hurt.

How would the Master know if she defied Reaper? Surely he wouldn't be asking for an hourly report of her? No, Reaper wasn't like that. He wasn't the type to be a tattle.

Regardless, she couldn't risk upsetting him.

With a defeated sigh, Flora spread herself across the couch, using her one arm as a makeshift pillow. Perhaps she'd be able to get some form of sleep before Reaper got back. And, if she did, hopefully she would come up with a plan to escape.


End file.
